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By bequest of 

William Lukens Shoemaker 



CONVERSATIONS 




ON 



RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, 



BETWEEN 



A FATHER AND HIS TWO SONS, 



BY SAMITEI. M. JAMEV. 



PRINTED BY JOHN RICHARDS 

No. 12i) North Third Street. 
1835. 






out 

W. If. Slioeaxalcer 
T S '08 






PREFACE 



The Mowing Essays are offered to the public with a hope that they 
may receive a candid perusal from inquiring minds, and that they may, 
under the Divine blessing, lead some to examine with attention the 
important doctrines of which they treat, and to build their houses, not 
upon the sandy foundation of traditional belief, but upon the rock of 
immediate revelation; for on this rock only, the true church of Christ 
has ever been established. 

The colloquial style has been chosen, in order to render the work 
more interesting to the young, and as affording a better opportunity 
of stating the objections that are generally advanced against the views 
here advocated. 

The author has endeavoured to state fairly the arguments of those 
who differ from him in opinion, and especially to bring into view 
those passages of Scripture on which they have most relied : for he 
believes that these sacred records are, under Divine influence, of inesti- 
mable value in giving us a knowledge of Christian doctrines. It is, 
however, the principal aim of this work, to show that the kingdom of 
Christ is a spiritual kingdom, and that wherever it is established in 
the heart, it ascribes "glory to God in the highest," and promotes 
w peace on earth, and good- will to men." 

Occoquan, Va. 2d mo. 24^, 1835. 



CONTENTS 



CONVERSATION I. 
On Repentance and Conversion, - - page 4 

CONVERSATION II. 
On Divine Worship, 24 

CONVERSATION III. 

On the Original and Present State of Man, - - 47 

CONVERSATION IV. 

On the Divine Being, - - - - 67 

CONVERSATION V. 
On Salvation by Christ, ... 93 



Appendix, ..... 114 






CONVERSATIONS, &c 



CONVERSATION L 



ON REPENTANCE AND CONVERSION. 

James. I feel desirous of information respecting 
some of the principal doctrines of Christianity; — for 
the great variety of opinions which prevails among 
the professors of religion, and the bitterness which 
some of them appear to feel towards others, have had 
a tendency to weaken my faith, and I have no doubt 
they have produced discouragement in the minds of 
many others. 

Father. It must be acknowledged that a great 
diversity of opinion does exist upon many points of 
doctrine; but this should not weaken our faith in the 
reality of vital religion; for a great variety of opinions 
may be found among men in most departments of know- 
ledge. The greatest philosophers have often been mis- 
taken by founding their systems upon speculations and 
conjectures,instead of watching the operations of nature 
and reasoning from facts: and it is in this way that 
many professors of religion continue to err, by attach- 
ing too much importance to the conjectures they have 
formed about religion, and by attending too little to 
the operation of the Spirit of Truth in their own 
minds, by obedience to which they might become 
experimentally acquainted with vital religion, and 
""renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that 
created them." Notwithstanding the great variety of 
doctrines among the professors of Christianity, I 
2 



could easily prove to you from pious and experienced 
writers of every sect that I am acquainted with, that 
they all agree in regarding true religion as a work of 
the heart rather than of the head ; and the experience 
of all ages proves that "the grace of God which bring- 
eth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us 
that denying ungodliness and worldly Justs, we should 
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present 
world." The operation of this Divine power, when it 
is submitted to, brings about in our minds the great 
change, which begins with repentance for our past 
sins, and ends in conversion or regeneration. 

John. These are subjects on which I wish for in- 
formation, for I have lately thought much about them, 
and I trust my heart has been in some measure wean- 
ed from the world, and engaged in the pursuit of that 
inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth 
not away. 

Father. I am rejoiced to hear that the Lord has 
been so gracious to thee, my son, and that he is call- 
ing thee out of darkness into his marvellous light 
He has, I trust, granted thee "repentance unto life," 
which is the first step in the path of righteousness. 
Like the passage of the children of Israel through the 
Red Sea, the baptism of repentance separates us 
from the land of Egypt, saves us from a host of our 
enemies, and fills the soul with joy, so that we can 
sing the song of Moses, and "make melody in our 
hearts unto the Lord." But the Israelites, after their 
first deliverance and rejoicing, had a great many trials 
to encounter, and a long journey to perform through 
the wilderness, until that crooked and perverse gene- 
ration which was born in Egypt, was wasted away 
or consumed: and then there was a captain raised up 
in the midst of them, who led the new generation 
through Jordan (the river of judgment) into Vie pro- 
mised land. The work of repentance was also typi- 
fied by the watery baptism of John, — but true saving 






Baptism is "not the putting away of the filth of the 
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards 
God." 1 Peter iii. 21. And this saving baptism is ad- 
ministered by the Holy Spirit, which comes into the 
heart, and purifies, or "sprinkles it, from an evil con- 
science." Repentance is the gift of God, — and it is of- 
fered to the acceptance of all men; for all are visited 
with seasons of calm reflection and serious thoughtful- 
ness, when their sins are "set in order before them," 
and all the pleasures of sense and the riches of this 
world, seem "as nothing and vanity," compared with 
that peace of mind which they have lost while pursu- 
ing after shadows. This state of mind is sometimes ex- 
perienced by those who are the most eager in pursuit 
of pleasure and worldly glory; but they too generally 
put it from them, and fly to amusements or business to 
drive it away. Yet this very thing which is so much 
shunned, is nothing less than a visitation of Divine 
Love, which if yielded to would lead to eternal salva- 
tion. It is indeed the voice of Christ, who says, "Be- 
hold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my 
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and 
will sup with him and he with me." Rev. iii. 20. 

Those who yield obedience to this heavenly vision, 
not consulting with flesh and blood, will experience 
the baptism of repentance to take place in their souls, 
for "godly sorrow w T orketh repentance to salvation;" 
and the only sure evidence of sincere repentance, is 
bringing forth fruits "meet for repentance." 



if 



VltLLlltL 1U1111 IIUIIO Ul^tl 1U1 1 Ks IJtyll LaUUCi 

James. Does not repentance often take place with- 
out any fruits? It appears to me that I have been sin- 
ning and repenting for many years, without much, if 
any, amendment. 

Father. There is a spurious kind of repentance 
that hardly deserves the name; — it does not proceed 
from a true sense and hatred of sin, but from a dread 
of punishment , which induces men very often to 
feel a transient regret for what they have done, and 



8 

to take up resolutions to do better in future; but these 
resolutions, when made in man's own strength, and 
with a reliance upon his own arm for their execution, 
will not stand in the hour of temptation; the first 
gust of passion will blow them away. True repent- 
ance implies not only a godly sorrow for sin, but a 
turning away from it. It implies a returning again 
to him from whom the soul has revolted. "Repent," 
says the prophet, "and turn yourselves from all your 
transgressions: so iniquity shall not be your ruin." 
Ezek. xix. 36. 

John. I have no doubt that true repentance is a 
work of the divine Spirit in the soul, and that it is 
accompanied by forgiveness of sins through the mercy 
of God. But I have been led to believe that the joy 
and peace which I have found springing up and 
abounding in my heart, was an evidence not only of 
forgiveness, but of conversion and regeneration. 

Father. The term conversion is often used as 
equivalent to regeneration, and then it signifies a 
change of heart, from a state of sin to a state of holi- 
ness, — a putting off the old man with his deeds, and 
putting on the new man, which is renewed in know- 
ledge "after the image of Him that created him." 
It was used in this sense by Jesus himself, when 
speaking to Peter, just before he was delivered up. — 
"Simon," said he, "satan hath desired to have you, 
that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for 
thee, that thy faith fail not; and when thou art con- 
verted, strengthen thy brethren." Luke xxii. 31, 32. 

John. It appears from this passage, that Peter had 
not yet been converted, and it becomes an interesting 
inquiry for us all to know what was then the state of 
his experience, and how far a man may progress in 
religion without being thoroughly converted. 

Father. Yes, it is a very interesting subject for 
inquiry, and there are a number of passages in the 
New Testament that will throw some light upon it. 



It appears that Peter, long before this, had forsaken 
all, in order to follow Christ. He had been one of 
his disciples nearly three years. He had listened to 
his preaching and conversation, and beheld his mira- 
cles and holy example. He had himself been sent 
forth to preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand," and he had been entrusted with the power of 
healing the sick and casting out devils. He had also 
been with his divine master in the hour of prayer, 
and stood by him on the mount of transfiguration, 
when "his face did shine as the sun, and his garment 
was white as the light," and "there came a voice 
from the excellent glory, saying, This is my beloved 
Son, hear ye him." Nor was Simon's experience alto- 
gether of an outward character; for when he confessed 
that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, 
his master replied, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: 
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but 
my Father which is in heaven." Yet it appears that 
notwithstanding all his precious opportunities, and 
his ardent love for Christ, Peter had not yet been 
thoroughly converted. 

John, I am almost ready to say, this is hard doe- 
trine, who can bear it; for if Peter, after all this ex- 
perience, had not been converted, how can one so 
young and weak as I, hope to attain that blessed state. 

Father. Be not discouraged, my son. He who hath 
begun a good work in thee, is able and willing to 
carry it on and complete it. All he requires on thy 
part is, watchfulness to know his will, obedience to 
follow it, and patience to endure his righteous judg- 
ments. Every victory over sin, and every escape 
from temptation, is accompanied by an immediate re- 
ward of "joy in the holy spirit," for "he feeds his 
flock like a shepherd, he gathers the lambs with his 
arm, and carries them in his bosom*" 

Conversion does not depend upon the abundance 
of our knowledge, but upon the subjection of our wills 



10 

to the Divine government. This brings us into a 
teachable, humble, childlike state; — for "except ye 
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall 
not enter into the kingdom of heaven" 

John. Is there any evidence in the Scriptures that 
Peter was not in this state, except the passage alluded 
to? 

Father. Yes, there are several circumstances re- 
lated of him, which show that he was still governed 
by his own will, and had not been "transformed by 
the renewing of his mind;" — for instance, when his 
master said to him, "Whither I go, thou canst not fol- 
low me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards," — 
Peter answered with much confidence, "Lord, why 
cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for 
thy sake." But it appears that his confidence in him- 
self was entirely misplaced, for when the hour of trial 
came, he not only denied his master thrice, but "he 
began to curse and swear, saying, I know not this 
man of whom ye speak." Mark xiv. 71. 

John. Perhaps this instance of humiliating weak- 
ness, came upon him in consequence of his having so 
much confidence in himself, that he did not continue 
in watchfulness and prayer. 

Father. Yes, there is no doubt of it, — and there 
is no safety for the most experienced Christian, but 
in a state of continual reliance upon Divine aid, which 
is always afforded when rightly sought for. "God is 
faithful," says the apostle, "and will not suffer you 
to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with 
the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye 
may be able to bear it." 1 Cor. x. 1 3. 

James. Was there no other part of Peter's conduct 
that indicated the state of his mind? 

Father. Yes, there was. It appears that when Je- 
sus began "to show unto his disciples, how that he 
must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the 



11 

elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, 
and be raised again the third day; then Peter took him 
and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, 
Lord; this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and 
said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, satan; thou art 
an offence unto me, for thou savourest not the things 
that be of God, but those that be of men." Matt. xvi. 
21-23. This conduct of Peter arose from his not un- 
derstanding the nature of Christ's kingdom; which can 
only be understood by coming under the government 
of the spirit of Christ. When Jesus "was demanded 
of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should 
come, he answered them, and said, The kingdom of 
God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they 
say, Lo here! or lo there! for behold, the kingdom 
of God is within you" Luke xvii. 20, 21. But 
although Peter had experienced the baptism of re- 
pentance, which was typified by the watery baptism 
of John, he had not yet been introduced into the 
spiritual kingdom of Christ; for "the least in the 
kingdom of heaven is greater than John." Notwith- 
standing he had heard this doctrine preached, and 
seen it exemplified in the meek, non-resisting example 
of the Saviour, his mind was still veiled by the pre- 
judices of education, and he expected the Messiah to 
reign as a temporal prince, to subdue their outward 
enemies, instead of waiting in prayer that his power 
might be revealed in them, to subdue their spiritual 
enemies. It was therefore expedient for them that 
he should go away, in order that the "Comforter, 
which is the spirit of Truth, might come and lead 
them into all truth." This Comforter is the manifes- 
tation of the same Divine life and light which dwelt 
in him, for "in him was life; and the life was the 
light of men: that is the true Light which lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world." John i. 4-9. 
John. And did not Peter show that the natural 
man was still prevalent in him, when he took a sword 
and smote off the ear of the high priest's servant? 



12 

Father. I think that was a very strong evidence 
that his heart had not been thoroughly brought under 
Christ's government, for the same spirit will always 
bring forth the same fruit. Now, the fruit of the 
Divine spirit "is love, joy, peace, long suffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: 
against such there is no law." Gal. v. 22. 

James. I think Peter was very much like the pro- 
fessors of Christianity at the present day. He had 
not faith to suffer ivith Christ, but he was willing to 
fight for him. 

Father. Yes: for he could fight without taking up 
the cross of self-denial. But how different was the 
conduct of the holy Jesus! for he "touched the ser- 
vant's ea'r and healed it," saying, "Put up ap;ain thy 
sword into his place; for all they that take the sword 
shall perish with the sword." Matt. xxvi. 52. 

James. Perhaps Peter had mistaken his master's 
meaning, when he told them a little before, "He that 
hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." 

Father. It is very probable he did mistake it, as 
he was not then in a state of mind to understand 
spiritual things; — but his mistake was soon corrected, 
for when they said, " Lord, here are two sivords," 
he replied, "It is enough;" thereby intimating that 
he did not mean carnal weapons. 

On considering the whole paragraph, in connexion 
with the precepts and examples of Christ, it is plain, 
that he intended only to warn them that a time of 
deep trial was approaching, when they would need 
the whole of that spiritual armour which is afterwards 
described by the apostle as the "whole armour of 
God." "Stand therefore," says he, "having your 
loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast- 
plate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the 
preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking 
the shield of failh, wherewith ye shall be able to 
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the 



13 

helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which 
is the ivord of God: praying always with all prayer 
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there- 
unto with all perseverance and supplication for all 
saints." Eph. vi. 13-1S. 

These are the weapons of the Christian's warfare, 
and these were the weapons that Christ himself made 
use of. He overcame hatred by love, he conquered 
pride by meekness, and he triumphed over error by 
the spirit of Truth. He taught his disciples to resist 
not evil, but "when smitten on one cheek to turn 
the other also." "Love your enemies," said he, 
"bless them that curse you, do good unto them that 
hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you 
and persecute you^" "If you love them that love 
you, v*=hat reward have you? do not even the publicans 
the same?" But "be ye perfect, even as your Father 
in heaven is perfect; for he maketh his sun to rise on 
the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just 
and on the unjust; and he is kind even to the un- 
thankful and to the evil." These sublime precepts 
of Jesus were exemplified in every act of his spotless 
life, for " when he was reviled he reviled not again, 
and when he suffered he threatened not, but commit- 
ted himself to him that judgeth righteously." 1 Peter 
ii. 23. "To this end was I born," said he, "and 
for this purpose came I into the world, that I should 
bear witness unto the truth." John xviii. 37. These 
glorious truths were taught in his discourses, confirm- 
ed by his example, and sealed with his blood. "As 
a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not 
his mouth," but patiently bore all the sufferings that 
their iniquity inflicted upon him; and his faithfulness 
under sufferings was not only a sacrifice acceptable to 
God, but also an example to us. "For," says the 
apostle, "what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted for 
your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when 
ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this 
is acceptable with God: for even hereunto were ye 




14 

called; because Christ also suffered for its, leaving us 
an example, that we should follow his steps." — 
1 Peter ii. 20,21. 

James. But, father, it seems to me, that if we were 
to follow this example and these precepts, we should 
be very often imposed upon and injured by the wicked. 

Father. This was the very objection that the un- 
believing Jews started in that day; for they said, "If 
we let this man thus alone, all men will believe on 
him, and the Romans will come and take away our 
place and nation. " So they put him to a cruel and 
ignominious death ; nevertheless the Romans did 
come, and take away their place and nation. 

James. I believe most professors of Christianity 
expect to act upon peaceable principles, as soon as the 
state of the world will bear it. When the millenium 
shall come, then will "their swords be beaten into 
ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; 
for nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nei- 
ther shall they learn war any more." 

John. Yes, I suppose it will be very easy to re- 
frain from fighting, when there shall be no provoca- 
tion offered to us; but how is such a state of things to 
be brought about? 

Father. The way is very clearly pointed out, — 
it must be by the power of God. manifested in the 
meek example and patient sufferings of the faith- 
ful. This was the way that Christianity was first 
propagated ; and its wonderful progress, during the 
days of the apostles and primitive martyrs, attests the 
wisdom and power of its divine Author. The apostle 
Peter, of whom we have been speaking, after that the 
Holy Spirit, with power from on high, had come upon 
him and renewed his heart, could then follow the 
meek example and holy precepts of Christ, and by 
preaching with boldness, and suffering with patience, 
even unto death, he bore testimony to the truth of 






15 

the Gospel, and proved that his heart was then con- 
verted by the purifying influence of the Spirit of 
Christ. In those primitive times, the law of love 
governed the lives of the followers of Christ, and in- 
fluenced all their conduct, not only towards each other, 
but towards all mankind. They did not fight against 
their enemies, but prayed for them; and whenever 
primitive Christianity shall prevail in the world, it 
must bear the same fruits of meekness and love; for 
the tree will always be known by its fruits — u men do 
not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles." 

John. It appears to me that if all who profess to be 
followers of Christ w r ould only walk in his footsteps, 
the world would soon wear a different aspect from 
what it now does. 

James. I do not profess to be a religious man, but 
I can plainly see the great disparity there is between 
the profession and the practice of those who are call- 
ed the followers of Christ; and I have at times been 
almost ready to conclude, that there is no genuine 
religion among them. 

Father. There is no doubt that the cause of Truth 
has sustained more injury from the inconsistency of 
its professors, than from all the efforts of deists and 
infidels. But we must not charge upon Christianity 
the faults of those who merely profess the name, with- 
out becoming obedient to the Spirit of Christ; for in 
these is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, "In that 
day shall seven women take hold of one man, say- 
ing, we will eat our own bread and wear our own 
apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take 
away our reproach." They do not depend upon 
Christ to give them the, living bread, which comes 
down from heaven, and gives life to the soul; — nor 
do they wait for the water of life, which springs up in 
the obedient, dedicated mind; — neither do they wear 
the seamless garment of simplicity and truth: but they 
are willing to be called by his excellent name, while 



16 

in their hearts they are " crucifying to themselves 
the Son of God afresh, and putting him to an open 
shame. " 

John. Would not a continual obedience to the teach- 
ings of Divine grace in our hearts, lead us into con- 
formity with the example of Christ? 

Father. Certainly it would : for that grace is a 
manifestation of the same spirit that was in Christ; 
(John i. 4-16) and if we were obedient to it, we 
should be led out of all evil, and from under the bon- 
dage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons 
of God. 

James. But if this spirit is so very powerful, why 
is it that so few persons understand and obey it? 

Father. Because, in its first appearance, the seed of 
the kingdom is so small, that it is overlooked or trod- 
den down. It is likened to a " grain of mustard seed, 
which is the smallest of all seeds, but when it is grown 
it is the greatest of herbs, so that the fowls of the air 
lodge in its branches. " Those who are looking for 
great things, and extraordinary illuminations, will not 
put their faith in this little seed which is sown in eve- 
ry heart; and yet, "in it are hidden all the treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge;" for it is that "grace of God 
which bringeth salvation, and hath appeared to all 
men, teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and world- 
ly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly 
in this present world. " Titus ii. 11, 12. 

The first appearance of this Divine grace, or moni- 
tor, in the hearts of transgressors, is in the character 
of a reprover for sin, — and if we will be obedient to 
it, by repenting and turning away from our sins, it 
then becomes known to us as a comforter in righ- 
teousness; — and if we still continue to follow it for our 
guide, it will become to us a " spirit of judgment, and 
a spirit of burning, and will purely purge away our 
dross, and take away our tin: for Zion shall be re- 



17 

deemed with judgment, and her converts with righ- 
teousness." Isaiah iv. 4, and i. 25, 21. 

If any man think to be saved by a profession of re- 
ligion, or an implicit belief in the doctrines of Chris- 
tianity, without experiencing a regeneration, and bring- 
ing forth the fruits of the spirit of Christ, he is deceiv- 
ing himself, and building " his house upon the sand." 
It was against such professors that the wo was de- 
nounced by the prophet, — " Wo unto him that build- 
eth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers 
by wrong, that useth his neighbour's service without 
wages, and giveth him not for his work." Jer. xxii. 13. 

John. But does not this strike at the root of invol- 
untary slavery, which many professors are concerned 
in; for that appears to me to be "using our neigh- 
bour's service without wages?" 

Father. Certainly it does: for the Jews were taught 
by Jesus, in the parable of the good Samaritan, to re- 
gard all men as their neighbours, — even the Samari- 
tans with whom they had long been at enmity. But 
there are some of his precepts which are still more 
pointed against slavery. One of them is, " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbour as thyself." And another is, "Do 
unto others as thou wouldst that they should do unto 
thee." He who follows these precepts cannot possi- 
bly compel his fellow-creatures to work for him 
against their consent, nor without giving them full 
compensation for their labour. 

John. But I have heard professors, who were slave- 
holders, say, that the Jews under the old law were 
allowed to hold slaves. 

Father. Yes; but Paul says "the law made no- 
thing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, 
by which we draw nigh unto God." Heb. vii. 19. The 
law of Moses was not from the beginning, but u w r as 
added because of transgression, till the seed should 
come to whom the promise was made." Gal. iii. 19. 
3 



18 

The Israelites were then in such a dark, carnal state, 
that they could not receive a more spiritual law; and 
the professors of Christianity whose minds are now 
in the same dark state, find it very convenient to go 
back to those who lived under the law, for examples 
to follow, instead of following after Christ. By this 
means they might justify not only war and slavery, 
but polygamy and other gross evils. Moses allowed 
a man who was not satisfied with his wife, to give her 
a writing of divorcement, and put her away; but 
Christ says, it was "not so from the beginning," 
and that it was -allowed by Moses " because of the 
hardness of their hearts." 

John. But does not the New Testament speak of 
servants ? 

Father. Yes: it speaks of those whose calling or 
business in life was that of servants; and Paul advises 
such to be content in their calling: sa)'ing, " Let 
every man remain in the calling wherein he was call- 
ed. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it." 
1 Cor. vii. 20. But we are not to suppose that these 
were slaves, for a man may agree to serve another for 
wages, and then he is called a servant. 

John. It appears to me that a great many good men, 
in all ages of the world, have been concerned in the 
practice of going to war, and holding slaves. 

Father. A great many persons who were sincere- 
ly pious, have been partakers of these evils, their 
eyes being so blinded by the prejudices of education, 
that they did not see them in their true light. We 
find, however, such persons have always mourned 
over the calamities of war, and endeavoured to miti- 
gate the hardships of slavery; and if they had follow- 
ed still further the teachings of this benevolent spirit, 
they would have been led by it entirely out of these 
evils; for, like the dawning of light upon the natural 
world, the perception of Ditine Truth in the minds 



19 

of individuals and nations, is always gradual and pro- 
gressive. But it appears from the history of the 
Christian church, that the practice of war, even in 
self-defence, was condemned by the primitive Chris- 
tians for the first three centuries: and after the visible 
church became corrupted, and had apostatized from 
the Truth, there were large numbers, in almost every 
age, who bore a faithful testimony against the shed- 
ding of human blood, — against oaths of every kind, — 
against priestcraft and persecution, — and against many 
of the corruptions in faith and practice which had 
crept into the church. 

There were great numbers of these dissenters in 
Italy, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, who 
bore the name of Paterines, and a similar people were 
known in Piedmont by the name of Waldenses, who 
continued, for five or six centuries, till about the time 
of the Reformation.* The Moravian brethren profess- 
ed nearly the same principles, both before and since 
the Reformation, and the Society of Friends have 
borne the same testimonies for nearly two hundred 
years past. All these people suffered severely from 
persecution, and immense numbers sealed their testi- 
monies with their blood in martyrdom, rather than 
take up the sword in self-defence; but they were 
sometimes wonderfully preserved, and seldom suffer- 
ed from any others than the false professors of Chris- 
tianity. Even the savages of North America respect- 
ed the Friends and Moravians, although in the first 
settlement of Pennsylvania they were entirely un- 
protected by arms, and professed the principle of 
non-resistance. 

These holy and benevolent principles must prevail 
more generally, among professing Christians, before 
that happy era can arrive, when the lion and the lamb 
shall lie down together, when the outcasts of Israel 

*For a full account of these people, see Jones's Church History. 
Some notice of them may be found in Mosheim's Ecc. History. 



20 

shall be gathered, and Ethiopia shall stretch forth her 
hands unto God. 

Every one who professes to be a follower of Christ, 
in this enlightened age, should reflect deeply upon 
these things, and endeavour to walk in the narrow 
path of self-denial; for we shall not be judged by the 
measure of knowledge that was imparted to other 
men of former ages, but according to what has been 
made known to ourselves. "Unto whomsoever much 
is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom 
men have committed much, of him they will ask the 
more." Luke xii. 48. If the holy men who are 
mentioned in the Old Testament, lived up to the law 
that was given to them, we ought likewise to live up 
to the law that is given to us, which is not an outward 
law that can take cognizance of outward acts only, 
but is an inward law that takes hold of the motives 
and principles of action, being written by "the 
spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in 
the fleshy tables of the heart." Jer. xxxi. 33, and 2 
Cor. iii. 3. It is this "law of the spirit of life in 
Christ Jesus which makes free from the law of sin 
and death." See Rom. viii. 2. For it will (in those 
who are obedient to it) " crucify the flesh with its af- 
fections and lusts." 

When the "love of God is shed abroad in the 
heart," and becomes our governing principle, it will 
make us love all God's creation, and especially all 
mankind; "for he made of one blood all nations of 
men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth." 

If God is "good even to the* unthankful and to the 
evil," will not his holy Spirit prompt us to pursue the 
same course? And if his beloved Son laid down his 
life for the good of mankind, and prayed for his per- 
secutors, will not his dominion in our hearts be at- 
tested by the same kind of fruits? 

These truths are undeniable; — and 1 think it is 
equally clear, that the man who comes fully under the 
government of Divine Love, will not only bear a 



21 

faithful testimony against all contention, oppression, 
and injustice, but against every thing that is opposed 
to the peace and happiness of man. He cannot en- 
rich himself by dealing in that which makes other 
men poor; neither can he become an instrument of 
evil by encouraging in any way, the frequent or un- 
necessary use of ardent spirits, when he sees how 
many thousands in our country are falling a prey to 
intemperance, and how many tens of thousands it has 
reduced to misery and ruin. 

John. I should think the effect of true religion 
must be, not only to restrain us from evil, but to lead 
us into all goodness. 

Father. Certainly it is. We must not onjy "cease 
to do evil," but we must "learn to do well," and 
thus obtain the fulfilment of that blessed promise; 
"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
white as snow, and though they be red like crimson, 
they shall be as wool." Isaiah i. 16-18. 

Our holy and blessed example, Christ Jesus, # went 
about continually doing good; — it was his meat and 
his drink to do his Father's will, and all those who 
would be his disciples must follow his steps, as far as 
light and ability are afforded. 

"Is not this the fast which I have chosen," saith 
the Lord, "to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo 
the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, 
and that ye break every yoke? Is it not, to deal thy 
bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor 
that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the 
naked that thou cover him, and that thou hide not 
thyself from thy own flesh." Isaiah lviii. 6, 7. 

He who does these things from the pure motive of 
Christian charity, will not sound a trumpet before 
him, but will endeavour to "do them in secret, and 
he who seeth in secret will reward him openly." It 
is true that the Divine Being looks at the state of 
our hearts, and the motives of our actions, rather 
3* 



22 

than the actions themselves, — but pure motives and 
good feelings cannot long exist in us, without bring- 
ing forth their appropriate fruits; — therefore the 
apostle James says, that " faith without works is 
dead," and that "pure religion and undefiled before 
God and the Father is this : to visit the fatherless 
and widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves 
unspotted from the world." Now in order to keep 
ourselves unspotted from the world, we must not 
only forsake its vices, but we must turn away from 
its vain fashions and trifling amusements. We must 
not "be conformed to this world, but transformed by 
the renewing of our minds." Rom. xii. 2. And we 
are required "to walk in wisdom towards them that 
are without, redeeming the time; and let your speech 
be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may 
know how ye ought to answer every man." Colos. 
iv. 5, 6. 

These are the genuine and invariable fruits of be- 
ing "born again of incorruptible seed, by the word 
of God which liveth and abideth forever;" — and it is 
not possible for any soul to participate in the joys of 
heaven, either here or hereafter, without being born 
again, and made a "partaker of the Divine nature." 
The gospel of Christ (by which I mean the "power 
of God unto salvation," Rom. i. 16,) is truly a glorious 
gospel, for it saves men from the dreadful effects of 
sin, not by an imputative righteousness, but by taking 
away the sinful nature out of the heart, so that those 
who have been dead in sin are raised up in newness 
of life. We cannot be reconciled to God while we 
remain in a state of sin, for "what communion hath 
light with darkness, and what concord hath Christ 
with Belial?" That corrupt nature in man, which 
has sinned, must be crucified and slain, (Rom. vi. 6,) 
in order that Christ may reign in us; for "if any man 
be in Christ he is a new creature, all old things are 
done away, and all things are new, and all things of 
God." We must "put off the old man with his 



23 

deeds, and put on the new man, which is renewed in 
knowledge after the image of him that created him, 
where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision 
nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian^ bond 
nor free; but Christ is all, and in all." The true 
Christian knows no distinction of party or sect, of 
rank or condition; for he loves all mankind; — and 
all those who are governed by the same pure spirit, 
whatever may be their name or profession of religion, 
he can salute as brethren. He does not expect the 
fellowship of the gospel to be always accompanied by 
an entire uniformity of opinion, for it is "the unity 
of the spirit" that is " the bond of peace;" and if 
all the professors of religion were governed by that 
one pure spirit which speaks "peace on earth and 
good will to men," there would be no occasion for 
creeds to define the boundaries that separate one sect 
from another. It has always been the effect of human 
creeds and systems of religion, to array sect against 
sect, and brother against brother; but our Divine 
Master has given us no creed to bind the consciences 
of men, except that one rule by which their principles 
may be known, which is to try them by their fruits, 
for a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, nor an 
evil tree good fruit. 

"Love is the fulfilling of the law," and "by this 
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
have love one to another." "Not every one that 
saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that 
doeth the ivill of my Father which is in heaven." 

Let no man think himself converted, or regenerated, 
until he finds the pure spirit of Divine Love to be his 
governing principle in thought, word, and deed, so 
that "whether he eats, or whether he drinks, or 
whatsoever he does, it is all for the glory of God." 
Then, and not till then, can it be truly said that he 
is renewed in the spirit of his mind, and that he has 
"put on the new man, which after God is created in 
righteousness and true holiness." Ephesians iv. 24. 



24 

We are assured that those who arrive at this blessed 
state, will find "the yoke made easy and the burden 
light," for there will be a spring of joy opened in 
their hearts, that will make every trial and affliction 
seem as nothing, for Christ's sake. The pleasures 
and honours of the world will, in their view, lose all 
their charms to please, and they will go on their way 
rejoicing in a living foretaste of those celestial joys 
which the world can neither give nor take away. — 
But even in this state of mind, there is a continual 
need of reliance upon Divine aid; for "it is not in 
man that walketh to direct his steps." Jer. x. 23. 
And that solemn injunction of Christ should never be 
forgotten, — "Watch ye therefore, for ye know not 
when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at 
midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; 
lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And 
what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." Mark 
xiii. 35. 



CONVERSATION IX 



ON DIVINE WORSHIP. 

John. In a former conversation the subjects of re- 
pentance and conversion were discussed, and we were 
shown the necessity of being "born again of incorrup- 
tible seed, by the word of God, which liveth and 
abideth forever." There is another subject of much 
interest which I desire to understand, and that is, the 
right mode of worshiping the Divine Being. 

Father. This is a subject of deep interest to every 
awakened mind, and I shall endeavour to state my 
views upon it for your serious consideration, not 
wishing you to adopt them any further than you may 
be convinced in your own minds of their truth. 



25 

James. There is a wide difference among Christians 
of various denominations in their manner of worship, 
and yet most of them profess to derive their views 
from the same source. The Catholics have their stated 
forms of prayer and praise, many of which are repeat- 
ed in a dead language; the Episcopalians have theirs 
all written and repeated in the English language; the 
Presbyterians have no forms for their prayers, but 
their hymns are set to music, and sometimes accom- 
panied by the organ; the Methodists and Baptists 
have mostly discarded the instrumental music, but 
still retain the vocal, — while the Friends, or Quakers, 
have relinquished both, and all set forms of prayer and 
preaching, deeming neither indispensible to Divine 
worship, which they believe may be acceptably per- 
formed in silence. Now, if the Bible be so perfect a 
rule as is generally stated, how is it that all these 
people differ so much in their views, for they all ap- 
peal to it for authority? 

Father. The Old Testament is very explicit in 
stating the form of worship and all the ceremonies 
enjoined upon the Jews, because that was an outward 
dispensation, intended to typify and lead to a spiritual 
dispensation, and its end being accomplished it was 
abrogated by the coming of Christ. Now we may 
remember he said to the woman of Samaria, "The 
hour cometh and now is, when the true worshipers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for 
the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a 
spirit, and they that worship him, must worship hirn 
in spirit and in truth." 

I have no doubt that this spiritual worship, — this 
communion of the soul with the Father of spirits, — 
has been, and still is, performed, at times, by the 
pious and sincere worshipers in all the various sects 
of Christendom ; — the question is, which of the various 
forms of worship is most consistent with the Christian 
dispensation, and best adapted to promote true spiri- 
tual worship. 



26 

John. I think it is much to be regretted, that the 
writers of the New Testament were not a little more 
explicit in regard to the manner of worship, for there 
has been a great deal of disputing about it among the 
professors of Christianity. 

Father. I do not think so. For Christ said to his 
disciples, "I have yet many things to say to you, but 
ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when he, the Spirit 
of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for 
he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall 
hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things 
to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of 
mine, and shew it unto you." John xvi. 12-14. Was it 
not much better to direct their attention to the teach- 
ings of the Spirit of Truth, (which he has promised 
to all those who wait upon him,) than to give them 
verbal or written instructions about the manner of 
worship, which perhaps, they were not in a state to 
receive? 

John. Those who were to be guided by the Spirit 
of Truth, or indued with a miraculous gift of the 
Holy Ghost, did not need such particular directions, 
but if the apostles, while under the influence of this 
power, had written a more minute account of their 
forms of worship, it might have saved a great deal of 
controversy. 

Father. True spiritual worship does not depend 
upon any form, but upon the power or influence un- 
der which it is performed. "The kingdom of God is 
not in word, but in power." 1 Cor. iv. 20. It is not 
necessary that we should use the same form of wor- 
ship that the apostles did, — but it is absolutely neces- 
sary that we should be governed and influenced by 
the same power, or spirit of truth; for without it we 
cannot even think a good thought, much less can we 
perform, acceptably, the solemn service of Divine 
worship. The apostle Paul said, "We are not suffi- 
cient of ourselves, to think any thing as ofourselves> 



21 

but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us 
able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, 
but of the spirit, for the letter killeth, but the spirit 
giveth life." 2 Cor. iii. 5, 6. 

John. But would not the same spirit always lead 
into the same form? 

Father. It will always produce the same fruits of 
holiness, but not always the same form of worship; 
for the Divine Being adapts his instructions and re- 
quisitions to the state of the people whom he visits. 
His mercy, and his condescension to the children of 
Israel were so great, that he gave them an outward 
law, adapted to their weak, carnal state, and he made 
that law a figure, or shadow of good things to come, 
so that they might be led by the shadow to seek for 
the "substance, which is Christ." It is evident that 
the prophets, and other holy men who lived under 
the law, did come to the knowledge of Christ; for 
the apostle Peter says expressly, that " the spirit of 
Christ was in them." 1 Peter i. 11. But in process 
of time, the Mosaic law became much corrupted by 
the traditions of the elders, which the scribes had 
engrafted upon it, and the people became so depen- 
dent upon outward observances, that they "omitted 
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, 
and faith." Matt, xxiii. 23. Then it became neces- 
sary to abolish that law, and Jesus Christ came to 
"take away the hand-writing of ordinances," and to 
introduce a more spiritual dispensation, which he 
exemplified in his life, and sealed by his death. This 
law of the new covenant was predicted by the prophet 
Jeremiah, who says, "This shall be the covenant that 
I will make with the house of Israel: After those 
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their in* 
ward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be 
their God, and they shall be my people." Jer. xxxi. 
33. It is far superior to any outward law, because it 
is always adapted to the condition of each individual, 



,*__ 






28 

and it is not limited in its application to our outward 
actions, for it condemns every evil thought which 
rises in the mind; and thus in the obedient, dedicated 
soul, it lays the axe to the root of the corrupt tree. 

John. I acknowledge all this is consistent with the 
Scriptures, but I have sometimes met with persons 
who say that all immediate revelation has ceased, and 
that we have nothing to depend on now, but the 
Scriptures and our reasoning powers. 

Father. Yes, there are such persons, and some of 
them even pretend to be Christians. But the Scrip- 
ture tells us, "No man can say that Jesus is Lord, 
but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor. xii. 3. 

James. I have often heard such persons speak on 
religion, — and I confess that I have so little know- 
ledge on the subject, that I could not refute their 
reasonings. I should like to be certain that the Di- 
vine spirit does operate upon man, and inform him of 
his duty, before we proceed further in the considera- 
tion of spiritual worship. 

Father. The best way, and the only sure way for 
a man to be satisfied of this, is, to be obedient to every 
manifestation of duty in his own mind, — to keep all 
his passions in subjection, and to do every thing that 
he believes will be pleasing in the sight of God; and 
he will then find, as he continues to walk in this path, 
that his spiritual perceptions will improve; and he 
will see many things to be wrong, which he once 
considered indifferent, and will experience many joys 
to spring up in his heart, which before were unknown 
to him; until at length he may arrive at that state of 
"full age," which the apostle Paul speaks of, "even 
of those who by reason of use, have their senses 
exercised to discern both good and evil." Heb. v. 14. 
That we have a sense of duty, or moral faculty, 
by some called conscience, placed in our minds, 
which, when divinely enlightened, enables us to dis- 
cern both good and evil, without waiting for the slow 



. 



29 

deductions of reason, must be acknowledged by 
every man that is acquainted with his own heart— A 
This important truth, which is so plainly taught in 
the sacred writings, and so readily acknowledged by 
every unprejudiced mind, was long obscured, and 
even denied, in the false theology of the Schoolmen, 
"who darkened counsel by words without know- 
ledge;" — but it is now acknowledged by the most 
distinguished writers on moral philosophy; and it has 
been ably proved, that this "moral sense" is one of 
the earliest faculties developed in childhood; that it 
is capable of being improved by use, or impaired 
by neglect; and that on its use or abuse is dependent 
the happiness or misery of man.* 

James. These facts are acknowledged even by 
those who deny the authority of the Scriptures. 

Father. Now, if it be admitted that we have a 
"moral sense," for discerning between good and 
evil, it follows as a necessary consequence, that there 
must be a medium by which this sense is brought 
into use: for the eye cannot see without light; nor 
can the ear hear without sound. The Divine Spirit 
is the medium which conveys to our conscience, or 
moral sense, the knowledge of spiritual things. It is 
called the light, because it is the medium of percep- 
tion. It is called the word of God, because through 
this medium he speaks to the soul; and it is called 
the grace of God, because it is given freely, "without 
money and without price." Jesus refers to the con- 
science as the eye of the soul, when he says, "If thine 
eye be single, thy w T hole body will be full of light: 
but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body will be full 
of darkness." There is such a striking analogy be- 
tween the effects of light upon the natural eye, and 
the operations of the Divine Spirit in the soul, that I 
cannot refrain from pursuing it further. 

The first thing that strikes the attention of an infant 

* See Stewart's Moral Philosophy; 
4 



30 

is the light ; yet it has no knowledge of the nature 
and properties of light, nor the uses for which it was 
designed; — it does not even know the distance, nor 
size, nor quality, of any thing it sees, until its senses 
are improved by exercise. Persons who were born 
blind, and have been restored to sight by a surgical 
operation, have at first to examine and handle every 
thing they see, like the infant does, until by expe- 
rience they learn to judge of the size and distance of 
objects. All their first perceptions are imperfect and 
indistinct. Like the man who was restored to sight 
by our Lord, they see "men as trees walking." Yet 
none of these facts induce us to doubt of the qualities 
of light being the same in every individual; and even 
the man whose eyes are impaired by disease, so that 
he cannot direct his steps aright, must acknowledge, 
that on other men the light may be shining unim- 
paired. 

It is thus that our mental vision becomes gradually 
accustomed to the influence of the Divine Spirit, "in 
whom we live, and move, and have our being;" and 
as we are earnestly engaged in attending to its dis- 
coveries, and faithfully concerned to walk in the 
light, we shall become "children of the light and of 
the day," and will experience an advancement in the 
truth, and in the knowledge of the Lord; so that what 
was at first as "the light of the moon, shall become 
as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall 
become sevenfold, as the light of seven days ;" for 
" the path of the just is as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." 

James. I have long been acquainted, in some mea- 
sure, with the effect of conscience in restraining me 
from doing evil, or reproaching me for it; but I had 
no idea that this was any thing extraordinary. 

Father. It is not any thing extraordinary, for all 
men have it; and the divine light shines on the moral 
sense of all, but all men do not attend to it; for 






31 

"men love darkness rather than light, because their 
deeds are evil." 

It is acknowledged by all, that man has nothing 
good in his own nature, independent of the Divine 
Being. "There is none good but one — that is, God." 
Therefore, if we find any thing in our own hearts to 
condemn us for evil, it must be something that is 
good, — something that comes from God; for evil will 
not condemn evil. Satan is not " divided against him- 
self." This pure principle of Divine light not only 
condemns us for evil, and "sets our sins in order be- 
fore us," but it likewise incites us to goodness, and 
when we are obedient to it we are sensible of a holy 
joy, a heavenly serenity of mind, which the apostle 
Paul describes as the "love of God, shed abroad in 
the heart." 

John. I can bear witness to that; for I have expe- 
rienced it in some measure, and I must acknowledge 
that it far surpasses all the joys this world can afford. 

Father. These truths are admitted by the most 
pious and enlightened writers of every Christian deno- 
mination that I am acquainted with; and many of 
them have acknowledged, that at times they have 
been so influenced by Divine grace, in their religious 
services, that their words seemed to come to them 
unsought, and were accompanied with such convinc- 
ing power and divine energy, that all opposition was 
subdued, and many hearts were melted into love and 
tenderness. Almost every pious and experienced 
Christian will acknowledge, that he has often known 
something of this heavenly influence to pervade his 
mind, during his seasons of private devotion, when 
he has withdrawn his mind from the world, and pros- 
trated his whole soul in silent adoration before that 
awful Being whose presence fills infinity, and whose 
power upholds the universe. Why then should there 
be so little of this power, and this precious solemnity, 
experienced in the religious worship that generally 



S2 

prevails in Christendom? Is it not because men have 
" forsaken God, the fountain of living water, and have 
hewn out to themselves cisterns, — broken cisterns, 
that can hold no water?" Instead of waiting for his 
power to influence their hearts, to control their 
thoughts, and to enable them to worship in spirit and 
in truth, how many rush into forms and ceremonies, 
without waiting for any divine influence to pervade 
their minds; forgetful of the apostolic declaration, 
that " we know not what to pray for as we ought, 
but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that 
searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the 
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints 
according to the will of God." Rom.viii. 26, 21. 

John. But it will not be safe, from this, to con- 
clude that all vocal utterance of prayer or praise is 
inconsistent with true spiritual worship; for Christ 
himself prayed with his disciples, and gave them a 
form of prayer at their request. It is also said, that 
they sang a hymn after eating the passover. 

Father. I would by no means restrict divine wor- 
ship to entire silence; for it does not consist in out- 
ward silence alone, any more than it does in words. 
The apostle Paul says, " I will pray with the spirit 
and with the understanding also: I will sing with the 
spirit and with the understanding also." 1 Qor. xiv. 
15. From this, it is evident he thought the under- 
standing alone was not sufficient, without the aid of 
"the spirit" of divine grace, to dictate prayer or praise" 
to God. In his epistle to the Ephesians, he tells them 
to "take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the ivord of God; praying always 
with all prayer and supplication, in the spirit, and 
watching thereunto, with all perseverance, and sup-, 
plication for all saints." In nearly all the instructions 
of the blessed Jesus and his apostles respecting 
prayer, the duty of watching is carefully enjoined; 
for the hearts even pf the faithful,, are not always in 



33 

a state suited to pray or sing praises to God. It is 
the duty of all to watch thereunto, as the "sick and 
the impotent folk" waited at the pool of Bethesda, 
until "an angel came down and troubled the water," 
and then "they stepped inland " were healed of 
whatsoever disease they had." John v. 4. 

" Watch and pray," said Jesus, " for ye know not 
the hour when the Son of man cometh." "Bless- 
ed are those servants whom the Lord, when he com- 
eth, shall find watching : verily, I say unto you, 
that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down 
to meat, and will come forth and serve them." Luke 
xii. 37. 

As to the hymn which they sang after eating the 
passover, I have no doubt it was dictated by the 
"power and wisdom of God," which dwelt in Je- 
sus; for he told them, on several occasions, "What- 
soever I speak, even as the Father said unto me so 
I speak." "I can of mine own self do nothing; as I 
hear I judge." Therefore a hymn, dictated and sung 
under this divine influence, must have been highly 
edifying. When he promised his disciples that the 
"Comforter, which is the Spirit of Truth," should 
come and teach them all things, he certainly did not 
intend to limit its operations by confining them to a 
set form of prayer or praise. 

The prayer known by the name of the Lord's 
prayer, was also dictated by the same Divine wis- 
dom, and was exactly adapted to the occasion on 
which it was given; but it does not follow that it 
will suit all occasions; for we have no account of its 
being used afterwards by the apostles, although their 
praying is often mentioned. 

The Lord's prayer is remarkably short, and yet 
very comprehensive; and it appears to have been de- 
signed to show his disciples, that they must not be 
like the heathen, who thought "to be heard for their 
much speaking." His parable of the publican, who 
smote his breast, and said, " Lord be merciful to me 
4* 



34 

a sinner," and came down justified rather than the 
Pharisee who made a long profession, was also in- 
tended to show, that it is not the formal hypocrite, 
but the humble contrite heart, which is acceptable in 
the Divine sight. God looks at the heart; the 
form of prayer or praise is nothing in his sight; but 
the influence under which it is performed is every 
thing. Our Lord says, " Your Father knoweth 
what things ye have need of before ye ask him." — 
He knows what will be good for us better than we 
do ourselves; and if we set about asking him for 
whatever we may deem right in our own eyes, we 
shall often "ask amiss," and then it will be an evi- 
dence of his mercy not to grant it. 

James. What is the use of praying, then? 

Father. The object of prayer is not to change the 
Divine purposes, but to conform our wills to his. 
His will, and his purposes, are always the same, and 
always right; for in him is neither variableness nor 
shadow of turning. One object of religious worship 
is, to seek for light from him to know our own states 
and conditions; and when we are thus brought to 
see what we stand in need of, he gives us ability to 
ask it; he extends to us his holy sceptre, and grants 
the prayer that is made according to his will. This 
is the prayer of faith that is always availing, whether 
it be uttered vocally, or only breathed in the secret 
of the soul. The man whose heart is devoted to 
God will be always " watching unto prayer," and may 
therefore be said to "pray without ceasing," for he 
will be often engaged in mental supplication, or in 
songs of praise, " making melody in his heart unto 
the Lord." Nor will his prayers be confined to sup- 
plications for his own soul. As all the members of the 
true church are one in spirit, being baptized by one 
spirit into one body, and thereby made to sympa- 
thize one with another; so each member will be at 
times dipped into a feeling of near unity with the 



35 

brethren, and may feel himself constrained, by the 
influence of Divine love, to offer up a petition on 
their behalf, either vocal or mental, which will be 
acceptable in the Divine sight; and being accompani- 
ed by the influence of his Holy Spirit, cannot fail to 
do good. He who prays, preaches, or sings, with- 
out this influence, is like one who shoots his arrows 
at a venture, and, unless his rashness be overruled by 
Divine Providence, he is more likely to do harm 
than good. But even when we think ourselves cloth- 
ed with ability for religious services, it is well to re- 
member the caution of the royal preacher, "Keep 
thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and 
be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of 
fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not 
rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty 
to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven 
and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few." 
Ecc. v. 1. 

John. Does not our Lord promise that " whatso- 
ever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do?" 

Father. Yes; there is such a promise frequent- 
ly repeated: but we are not to understand that mere- 
ly taking the name of Jesus Christ into our mouths, 
will ensure acceptance to our prayers; for the wicked 
can do this as readily as the righteous, and even those 
who are comparatively good may do it improperly. 
The name of the Lord is often used in the scriptures 
to signify the power, spirit, or presence of the Lord. 
Thus, when he promised to send his angel to go be- 
fore the Israelites, to keep them in the way, he told 
them, "Beware of him and obey his voice, provoke 
him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions, 
for my name is inhim" Ex. xxiii. 21. "In all their 
afflictions he was afflicted, and the angel of his pre- 
sence saved them; in his love and in his pity he re- 
deemed them, and he bare them and carried them 
all the days of old." Is. xiii. 9. The prophet Jere- 



36 

miah, in speaking of the coming of Christ, says,. 
"This is his name whereby he shall be called, the 
Lord our righteousness." And it is also said, "They 
shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being inter- 
preted, is God with us." Mat. i. 23. 

The name Jesus, (a saviour,) and Christ, (anoint- 
ed,) was given to him, because in him dwelt a full 
manifestation of the "power and wisdom of God," 
who is the only Saviour; for he says by the mouth 
of the prophets, " I, even I, am the Lord, and be- 
sides me there is no Saviour." Isaiah xli. 3 and 11. 
Hosea xxiii. 4. Now if this name is intended to sig- 
nify the power, spirit, or presence of God, do not 
those who invoke the name without feeling the pow- 
er, take the name of the Lord in vain ? They who 
pray under the influence and direction of this holy 
name or power, will ask for nothing inconsistent 
with the Divine will, and, therefore, their prayers 
will be always availing. 

John. But are we not required to pray for all men? 
and yet we believe that all men are not saved, for 
many continue to live in wickedness. 

Father. God has no pleasure at all " that the wick- 
ed should die, but that he should return from his 
ways and live." Ezek. xviii. 23. He furnishes every 
man with the means of salvation; for " the grace of 
God, tvhich bringeth salvation, hath appeared to 
all men." He who loves God, will love all God's 
creation; and this feeling of universal love will be 
found to arise in mental supplication for all men, that 
they may come to the knowledge of the same bless- 
ed truth: and sometimes these aspirations will be- 
come so earnest as to give rise to the utterance of 
vocal prayer, which may, under the Divine blessing, 
produce in others the same kind of feelings. But 
these precious feelings may spread from heart to heart, 
and rise into dominion, without the use of words; 
for there is in divine love a sympathetic influence, 
which pervades the minds of those who worship 






37 

aright; and when they are assembled together in 
worship, it brings them into the "unity of the spirit, 
in the bond of peace," and they seem to live and 
breathe in an atmosphere of love. This holy influ- 
ence may be felt in such a degree as to surpass the 
power of utterance; for human language has no terms 
in which to convey it to others, and it can only be 
conveyed in that "language in which we were born," 
which is the language of impressions made upon the 
heart by the finger of God. The same kind of holy 
solemnity is described in the Revelations, as the 
highest degree of religious worship; for, after the 
opening of the sixth seal, the apostle " saw a great 
multitude, which no man could number, of all na- 
tions, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, who 
stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed 
with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried 
with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God, which 
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." But 
when the seventh and last seal was opened, every 
tongue was mute — every soul was prostrate in the 
presence of the living God, and there was "silence 
in heaven about the space of half an hour." Rev. viii. 
1. This state of mental silence, in which the active 
powers of man are all at rest and waiting upon God, 
was also prefigured in the institution of the Jewish, 
or Seventh-day Sabbath, which the apostle Paul ex- 
pressly says, was" a shadow of things to come." 
Col. ii. 17. And in another place, after speaking of 
the Seventh-day, he says, "There remaineth there- 
fore a rest to the people of God; for he that hath en- 
tered into his rest, hath ceased from his own works as 
God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter 
into that rest." Heb. iv. 9-11. 

They who have ceased from their own works, from 
the " will-worship and voluntary humility" of the 
natural man, are then prepared to enter into the 
closet of the heart, and shutting the door upon the 
world, to offer up their prayers in secret to the Fa- 



S8 

ther of spirits; and "he who seeth in secret, will re- 
ward them openly," by granting them ability to over- 
come every temptation that may assail them. 

James. This doctrine would seem to exclude from 
public worship, not only instrumental music, but 
even the singing of hymns. Yet it appears to me, 
that there are directions somewhere in the New Tes- 
tament for singing hymns and spiritual songs. 

Father. Instrumental music is entirely without 
example or precept in the New Testament; and there 
is good reason to believe it never was used among 
Christians until the church became corrupted. It 
was much used in the worship of the Israelites, un- 
der the old law, and was well suited to an outward, 
shadowy dispensation, when the Deity, in conde- 
scension to the ignorance and weakness of the peo- 
ple, was pleased to manifest himself in an outward 
temple made with hands. But we live under a spi- 
ritual dispensation, and are taught to believe, that 
"the Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in tem- 
ples made with hands, neither is worshiped with 
men's hands, as though he needed any thing; seeing 
that he giveth to all, life, and breath, and all things, 
that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might 
feel after him and find him; though he is not far 
from any one of us, for in him we live, and move, and 
have our being." Acts xvii. 24-28. 

Music may have a tendency to allay the passions, 
and to quell, for a moment, the unsanctified desires of 
the human heart; but its influence is only temporary; 
for no sooner have its sounds ceased to vibrate on the 
ear, than the appetites and passions awake from their 
slumbers with unabated strength. Even the melody 
of David's harp, could only soothe for a while the 
evil spirit of Saul — it had no influence in changing 
his heart. The object of Christ's reign is not to send 
peace on earth, by soothing the passions of men, 
but a sword, to subdue them and bring them under 



39 

right government. He comes to slay, that he may 
make alive again; to subjugate the will of man, in 
order that his divine will may be done in us, and to 
bring ail our faculties, desires, and affections, under 
the government of his Holy Spirit. The pomp of 
ceremonies, the splendour of decorations, and the 
"pealing anthems" of the organ, are not consistent 
with the simplicity of spiritual worship, nor with the 
character and precepts of the meek and lowly Jesus. 

It appears that the primitive Christians did some- 
times sing psalms or spiritual songs, but the Scrip- 
tures do not inform us, whether it was always a part 
of their public worship, nor do they mention whether 
more than one person at a time was engaged in the ser- 
vice. It seems, from some expressions of the apostle 
Paul, that their mode of worship in the church at 
Corinth, was different from any that now prevails in 
Christendom. He says, "When you come together, 
every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath 
a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. 
Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man 
speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at 
most by three,"and that by course, and let another 
interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him 
keep silence in the church, and let him speak to him- 
self and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, 
and let the others judge. If any thing be revealed 
to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace; 
for ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may 
hear, and all may be comforted." 1 Cor. xiv. 26-31. 

He also mentions singing, in two others of his 
epistles. He says, "Be not drunk with wine, where- 
in is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking 
to yourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
songs, making melody in your hearts unto the 
Lord." Eph. v. 19. Again, he says, "Let the 
word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all w r isdom, 
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and 



46 

hymns, and spiritual songs; singing ivith grace in 
your hearts to the Lord." Col. iii. 16. In these pas- 
sages it is observable, that he is careful to mention 
that they must be filled with the spirit or word of 
Christ; and I think there is no doubt that their songs 
of praise and thanksgiving were dictated by it, just 
as much as their praying and prophesying. Every act 
of worship that proceeds from the influence of the 
Holy Spirit, is spiritual worship; and every act that 
proceeds from the will and wisdom of man, is " will 
worship:" the former is enjoined upon us; but the 
latter is expressly forbidden. Col. ii. 23. 

We are recommended in the Scriptures, not to ne- 
glect the assembling of ourselves together; and Christ 
has declared, "Where two or three are assembled in 
my name, there am I in the midst of them." He 
also says, u Without me ye can do nothing." Now> 
does it not follow, that when we are assembled toge- 
ther, we must wait in silence until we feel his power 
and presence to direct and assist us? For " obedience 
is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of 
rams." They who act upon any other principle than 
this, appear to me to be like those who urged Jesus 
to go up to the feast: but he replied, "My time is not 
yet come: your time is alto ays ready. The world 
cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify 
of it that the works thereof are evil." John vii. 6, 7* 

John. I should think it very uncharitable to say, 
that nearly all the worship that now prevails in Chris- 
tendom is evil; for I am certain that there are many 
pious men in every Christian sect. 

Father. I do not say their worship is evil; for I 
hope and believe much of it is accepted in the Divine 
sight. He who beholds the hearts of all men, has 
graciously promised, " To that man will I look, even 
to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that 
trembleth at my word." There is a dead form of 
silence as well as a dead form of words; and it is 




41 

equally offensive in the Divine sight. They who 
merely sit in outward silence, pretending to present 
their bodies before the Lord, while their hearts are 
far from him, and their thoughts wandering in pur- 
suit of earthly objects, are assembling in a dead form. 

John. Is this dead form as dangerous as the other? 

Father. In one respect I think it is not so danger- 
ous; it does not encourage. the practice of using im- 
properly the w y ords of holy men, and the promises of 
Scripture. That which was true in the mouth of a 
saint, may be a falsehood in the mouth of a sinner. 

James. Yes; 1 have often been struck with the 
impropriety of that practice, and I believe it not im- 
probable, that many a well-meaning man utters more 
falsehoods in time of worship than all the week be- 
sides. 

Father. There are some hymns of such a general 
character, that almost any pious man may join in them 
without a breach of veracity; but it does not follow 
that they will always suit the state of his mind. — 
There are other hymns and psalms which describe 
particular states of mind, and contain the expression 
of particular feelings and desires, which can only be 
sung with truth by those who are in the same state of 
mind. For instance, when David says, "As the hart 
panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul 
after thee, God! My tears have been my meat 
day and night, while they say unto me continually, 
Where is thy God?" Ps. xlii. 1, 3. 

Now, how many singers are there in most congre- 
gations, that can sing this psalm without departing 
from the truth? For those who are mourning to sing 
the songs of joy, and for those who are rejoicing to 
join the wail of sorrow, is equally inconsistent. He 
who joins a choir to sing in public, is expected to 
sing every thing that is selected for them; no matter 
how discordant his feelings may be, if his voice be 
harmonious, nothing more is required: and what is 
5 



42 

worse than all, persons who have musical talents, are 
often induced to join the choir, while their hearts are 
unrenewed, and sometimes even while their moral 
characters are notoriously impure. 

How offensive must it be to that omnipresent and 
holy Being, u who is of purer eyes than to behold 
iniquity," when he looks upon this solemn mockery, 
this approaching with the lips, while the heart is far 
from him! Will he not say to such persons, as he 
did to the Jews formerly, " Who has required this at 
your hands, to tread my courts? Bring no more 
vain oblations, incense is an abomination unto me, 
the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies 
I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn 
meeting." Under the old law, he who had touched 
a dead body, or an unclean beast, was not allowed to 
come into the congregation until he was purified; 
much less could he participate in an act of worship; 
and shall they who are " living in pleasures, and who 
are dead while they live," take an active part in 
public worship, under a more spiritual dispensation ? 
It is evident that such cannot drink of the cup that 
Christ drank of, nor are they baptized with his bap- 
tism, and if they partake of the outward form while 
they deny and reject the life and substance, do they 
not drink unworthily to their own condemnation? — 
These remarks will not apply to those sincere and 
pious worshipers, who are really hungering and 
thirsting after righteousness, for unto them there al- 
ways will be a blessing. But to this class I would 
seriously address the inquiry, whether that worship 
which is offered up in the will and wisdom of man, 
is not calculated to keep alive that will and to nourish 
that wisdom by which it is performed ? Now we 
know that our wills must be subjected to the Divine 
will, and we are taught that "the wisdom of man is 
foolishness with God," when applied to spiritual 
things. "The kingdom of God is within you," says 
Christ; and it is altogether reasonable that he should 






43 

be known , and obeyed, and worshiped, in his king- 
dom. If he veils his presence from us, — as he often 
does, — then we must wait upon him. "I wait for 
the Lord," says the psalmist, "my soul doth wait — 
my soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that 
watch for the morning." Ps. cxxx. 5, 6. The psalms 
of David, the writings of the prophets, the discourses 
of Jesus, and the epistles of Paul, contain a great 
many exhortations to wait upon the Lord, and learn 
of him. And John, the beloved apostle, writes to the 
Christians of his day, and tells them, "The anointing 
which ye have received of him abideth in you, and 
ye need not that any man teach you: but as the 
same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is 
truth and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you ye 
shall abide in him." 1 John ii. 27. 

It is also said in many places in the scriptures, that 
Christ himself shall be the prophet, the leader, and 
the teacher of his people; for he alone is the true 
"shepherd and bishop of souls." Now while we 
have such exceeding great and precious promises, 
how unwise are they who "compass themselves 
about with sparks of their own kindling," instead 
of waiting in patience for the Divine influence to en- 
able them to worship in spirit and in truth. 

If Christ be the teacher of his people, they that 
would learn of him must sometimes learn in silence; 
for, if we are always thinking our own thoughts, and 
speaking our own words, or those of others, w r e can- 
not hear the instructions that are conveyed to the 
soul by the impressions of the Divine spirit. 

If Christians of different denominations cannot, at 
present, see the propriety of giving up their stated 
forms of prayer and praise, I am persuaded they 
would derive great advantage from appropriating a 
part of the time of their religious meetings to silent 
waiting upon God: it would give greater life and 
solemnity to the rest of their worship, and, indepen- 



44 

dently of all other considerations, they would find it 
a most excellent discipline for the mind. 

John. I find by experience, that when I wish to 
consider any thing attentively, I can do it best in 
silence, and it seems reasonable that our tongues 
should be still when we undertake to examine our 
hearts.* 

Father. There is a very instructive fact mentioned 
in the history of the prophet Elijah, when he was in 
a cave on Mount Horeb. He was commanded to go 
forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord. — 
" And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and 
strong wind rent the mountain, and brake in pieces 
the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in 
the wind: and after the wind an earthquake, but the 
Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earth- 
quake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire: and 
after the fire, a still small voice. And it was so when 
Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his man- 
tle and went out and stood in the entering in of the 
cave. And behold there came a voice unto him and 
said, What doest thou here Elijah?" Thus it appears 
that Elijah knew that the word of the Lord (to which 
he had long been accustomed) was not to be heard in 
the noise and confusion of the outward elements, — 
but as soon as he heard the still small voice, he wrap- 

* A late writer, in speaking of what is termed "the Lord's Supper," 
makes this remark: "In all other instances of social worship, your 
attention is required without ceasing, to some external process, and 
you pass on from one part of the service to another with little opportu- 
nity to reflect as you proceed, or to pursue the suggestions which are 
made, in the manner that your own peculiar condition may require. 
But in this, the leisure is given for thoroughly applying to your own 
personal state, all that has met your ear, and for pouring out freely the 
devotional feeling which has been excited. And if there be any thing 
favourable to the soul, as multitudes of devout persons have insisted, in 
occasions for contemplative worship in the presence of other men, then 
in this respect the Lord's Supper may claim a superiority over every 
other season of social devotion." Now* if the pauses which occur during 
the administration of the Supper are found to be so salutary, why may 
they not be introduced at other times with equal advantage ? 



45 

ped his face in his mantle and listened to the Divine 
Monitor. We have no reason to believe, that this 
"word of the Lord," which came to the prophets, 
was conveyed in sounds to the outward ear; for God 
is a spirit, and the soul of man is spiritual; therefore 
the word by which he speaks to the soul is also spi- 
ritual. 

The apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, say- 
ing, " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, 
and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any 
man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; 
for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 
1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 

And the apostle Peter advises the Christians of his 
day, to "desire the sincere milk of the word, that," 
says he, "ye may grow thereby.' If so be ye have tasted 
that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming as unto a 
living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of 
^God and precious; ye also as lively stones are built up 
a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spi- 
ritual sacrifices acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ." 
1 Peter ii. 3-6. Thus it appears that the soul of man 
is the temple of God, and that his church is a spirt- 
tual house, built up of living stones, of whom Jesus 
Christ is the " chief corner stone, elect, and precious." 
The temple of Solomon, with all its glory, was but a 
faint emblem or figure of this spiritual house, which 
God is preparing for himself to dwell in, and in which 
he manifests his glory and his power. 

It is written of Solomon's temple, that "it was 
built of stone made ready before it was brought 
thither: so that there was neither hammer, nor axe, 
nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it 
was in building." 1 Kings, vi. 7. How striking a 
figure was this of the beautiful order and holy so- 
lemnity that ought to prevail, when the living stones 
are brought together in the assemblies of God's 
people. When we approach his awful presence to 
worship him in spirit and in truth, we should be 



46 

careful not to employ the tools or ceremonies of 
man's invention; for the Lord, in directing his cho- 
sen people to build an altar, said, "An altar of earth 
shalt thou build unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon 
thy burnt-offerings and thy peace-offerings: and if 
thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not 
build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up* thy tool 
upon it, thou hast polluted it." Exodus xx. 24. 
Deut. xxvii. 5. 

The offerings in God's temple are no longer of an 
outward nature, for " he is not worshiped with 
men's hands, as though he needed any thing." He 
requires us to give him the " first fruits" of all that 
we possess: we must serve him before all others, and 
give him the first place in our affections. The sacri- 
fice which he accepteth is " a broken and a contrite 
spirit;" and the smoke of the incense which ascends 
up before him, is " the prayers of the saints." Rev. 
viii. 3. 

I shall conclude this subject with a quotation from 
the writings of that great and good man, William 
Penn. " If," says he, " we are not to take thought 
what we shall say when we come before worldly 
princes, because it shall be given us, and that it is 
not we that speak, but the spirit of our Heavenly Fa- 
ther that speaketh in us; (Matt. x. 20,) much less can 
our ability be needed, or ought we to study to our- 
selves forms of speech in our approaches to the great 
Prince of princes, King of kings, and Lord of lords.. 
The psalmist says, 'Lord, thou hast heard the de- 
sire of the humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, 
thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;' and says Wisdom, 
' The preparation of the heart in man, and the an- 
swer of the tongue is from the Lord.' Here it is: thou 
must not think thy own thoughts, nor speak thy own 
words; which indeed is the silence of the holy cross; 
but be sequestered from all confused imaginations, that 
are apt to throng and press upon the mind in those 
holy retirements. It is not for thee to think to over- 



47 

come the Almighty by the most composed matter 
cast into the aptest phrase: — no, no, — one groan, one 
sigh from a wounded soul; an heart touched with 
true remorse, a sincere and godly sorrow, which is 
the work of God's spirit, excels and prevails with 
God. Wherefore, stand still in thy mind; wait to 
feel something that is divine to prepare and dispose 
thee to worship God truly and acceptably. And thus 
taking up the cross, and shutting the doors and win- 
dows of the soul against every thing that would in- 
terrupt this attendance upon God, — how pleasant so- 
ever the object be in itself, — how lawful and needful 
at another season, — the power of the Almighty will 
break in, — his spirit will work and prepare the heart, 
that it may offer up an acceptable sacrifice." 



CONVERSATION III. 



ON THE ORIGINAL AND PRESENT STATE OP MAN. 

James. Brother John and I have lately been con- 
versing about the original and present state of man, 
but we cannot agree in opinion, and have concluded 
to ask thy views upon the subject. He contends, that 
the transgression of Adam, in eating the forbidden 
fruit, produced an entire change in the nature of 
man, so that we are all born in a corrupt and sinful 
state; and that we are liable to punishment, not only 
for our own transgressions, but likewise on account 
of the guilt of our first parents, which he says is im- 
puted to all their offspring. This doctrine I cannot 
believe; for it appears to me to be entirely inconsist- 
ent with the justice and mercy of the Divine Being, 
to impute to me a sin which I never committed; nor 
can I understand how the nature of man could be so 
completely changed by that one transgression of 



48 

Adam; for we do not find any inherent difference 
now between the children of the righteous and the 
children of the wicked; they appear to be all born 
in the same state, though it is acknowledged that the 
example and teaching of their parents have a great 
influence upon their characters. 

John. I do not reason in this way upon subjects of 
so momentous a character, but am content to refer to 
the Scriptures of truth, which, being written by inspi- 
red men, are a much safer dependence than the falli- 
ble reason of man. 

Father. I believe that all Scripture, "given by in- 
spiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for re- 
proof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; 
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works." The truths contained 
in the Scriptures, if properly understood, and made 
the rule of our actions, are of inestimable value to 
man; but it is very evident that they cannot be un- 
derstood without the exercise of reason; for a man 
deprived of reason could not derive the least benefit 
from them. They are addressed to the understand- 
ings of men; but owing to the imperfection of human 
language, they are liable to be misunderstood, espe- 
cially by those who have no experimental knowledge 
of the things to which they relate. The most valua- 
ble parts of Scripture are those which relate to spi- 
ritual things; but in order to understand them clear- 
ly, we must come to the knowledge of the things 
themselves. When we undertake to study any natu- 
ral science, we are not satisfied with merely reading 
descriptions of natural objects, but we examine the 
objects for ourselves. For instance, the science of 
botany describes the various plants and flowers which 
the great Creator has so profusely scattered over the 
face of the earth; but we cannot obtain an accurate 
knowledge of them, merely by reading descriptions; 
we must ourselves examine the things described j and 



49 

in order to do this, we must have light to assist us. 
Now this is the course we ought to pursue in the ex- 
amination of spiritual things. The Scriptures inform 
us, that " the kingdom of God is within us," and that 
it consists of " righteousness, peace, and joy in the 
Holy Spirit." But what will this description avail 
us, unless we look within us to find these things, and 
become obedient to the teachings of the Holy Spirit, 
whose light will make them manifest? There is much 
useful information in the Scriptures, about the state 
of original purity in which man was created; the 
state of sin and corruption into which he has fallen 
by disobedience; and the state of restoration and sal- 
vation which is obtained by the faithful servants of 
Christ. This information is sometimes conveyed in 
plain and simple precepts, which may be under- 
stood literally; but it is often adorned with metaphors, 
and not unfrequently it is clothed in parables or alle- 
gories, according to the genius of the oriental lan- 
guages. It is well known that Jesus frequently spake 
in parables, which were not generally understood by 
the multitude, and that he explained their meaning to 
his disciples. But even to his disciples he did not 
open every thing at once, for he said, " I have many 
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them 
now." There are many pious men, who although 
they do not doubt that the account given by Moses of 
the garden of Eden and the fall of our first parents, is 
literally true, yet they believe it has in it a spiritual 
signification of far more importance to us. 

John. I am afraid to depend upon these spiritual 
significations, lest I should overlook the literal mean- 
ing of the text, and thus convert the whole Bible 
into an allegory. When any thing is stated as para- 
ble, I am then willing to look for a spiritual mean- 
ing, but not otherwise. 

Father. It appears that the apostle Paul was of a 
different opinion; for he says, when speaking of the 



50 

two sons which were born unto Abraham, that they 
were "an allegory" of "the two covenants." Gal. iv. 
24. Yet Moses does not say it is an allegory, but re- 
lates it as a matter of history; and I have no doubt 
the facts did occur just as Moses has stated them, and 
that the spiritual meanings revealed to the apostles is 
equally true. It will be acknowledged by almost 
every experienced mind, that the account given by 
Moses, of the journeying of the Israelites from 
Egypt, through the wilderness to the promised land, 
contains a faithful and beautiful allegory of the Chris- 
tian's progress, from a state of darkness and sin, to a 
state of gospel light and salvation; yet who can sup- 
pose that this view of the subject impairs our belief 
of the facts related by Moses? With respect to the 
garden of Eden, in which man was originally pla- 
ced, when he was created, there can be no doubt that 
the account given by the inspired pe-nman, is beauti- 
fully descriptive of that state of spiritual enjoyment 
which resulted to Adam from his dressing and keep~ 
ing the trees of the garden; or, in other words, from 
his keeping in their proper order all the desires and 
affections of his animal and spiritual natures, which 
were given for the promotion of his happiness, and 
pronounced to be good. That the garden of Eden 
was considered, among the holy men of old, as a state 
of spiritual enjoyment, we have an evidence in the 
writings of the prophet Ezekiel ; for he says, in 
addressing the king of Tyrus, " Thus saith the 
Lord God, Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom 
and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden, the 
garden of God; every precious stone was thy cover- 
ing, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond; the 
beryl, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the eme- 
rald, the carbuncle, and gold; the workmanship of 
thy tabrets and thy pipes, was prepared in thee in the 
day that thou toast created. Thou art the anoint- 
ed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so: thou 
wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast 



51 

walked up and down in the midst of the stones of 
fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the 
day thou toast created, till iniquity was found in 
thee." Ezek. xxviii. 12 to 16. Behold what a state 
of purity and wisdom was here, and that too, "from 
the day he was created!" But he fell from this state 
of righteousness; for the prophet goes on to say, 
"By the multitude of thy merchandize, they have 
filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast 
sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of 
the mountain of God ; and I will destroy thee, 
covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of 
fire !" 

James. There is a very striking resemblance be- 
tween the state here described and that of our first 
parents, as represented by Moses: for it appears that 
this king of Tyrus had " been in Eden, the garden 
of God;" that he was "full of wisdom and perfect 
in beauty;" and that he was "perfect in his ways 
from the day he was created, till iniquity was found 
in him." And it appears, too, that his punishment 
was similar to that of Adam; for he was "cast as 
profane out of the mountain of God." Now it be- 
comes an interesting inquiry with me, whether the 
cause of his fall was not similar to that of Adam, and 
whether all men are not, like him, created pure and 
innocent, by the great Author of our being: for "have 
we not all one Father?" and "hath not one God crea- 
ted us?" Mai. ii. 10. And if God is "the Father of 
spirits," as the apostle testifies, Heb. xii. 9, must not 
our souls come pure out of his hands? 

Father. The first of these inquiries, in relation to 
the manner in which the king of Tyrus fell from his 
state of purity, is answered by the prophet Ezekiel. 
"Thus saith the Lord God, Because thy heart is lift- 
ed up, and thou hast said, I am a God; I sit in the 
seat of God, in the midst of the sea; yet thou art a 
man, and not God, though thou set thy heart as the 



52 

heart of God." Now it appears that the sin of our 
first parents was somewhat analogous to this; for they 
were induced to believe that they " should be as Gods, 
knowing good and evil;" and after they had yielded 
to the temptation, "the Lord God said, Behold the 
man has become as one of us, to know good and 
evil." Gen. iii. 5, 23. 

James. There is a difficulty with me in understand- 
ing what Moses has said, about the tree of the know- 
ledge of good and evil, which was placed in the midst 
of the garden, and of which our first parents were 
forbidden to eat: for this appears to me* like placing 
a temptation before them; and yet the apostle James 
has said, " God cannot be tempted with evil, neither 
tempteth he any man." 

John. I cannot see that the difficulty would be 
removed, by saying, that the tree here spoken of was 
some evil principle in the mind of Adam: for all his 
principles before the fall were derived from above. — 
It appears to me, that the temptation was suggested 
by the serpent, who was only an instrument of Satan, 
and endowed by him with a miraculous power of 
speech and reason. We are told that the evil one has 
the power of " transforming himself into an angel of 
light;" and, therefore, it was in his power to assume 
the form of a serpent, in order to effect his malicious 
designs. 

James. As far as my own experience is concerned, 
I have no evidence of an evil spirit as existing sepa- 
rately from man; all my temptations have arisen from 
the perverted appetites and desires of my own nature, 
which are sometimes so disguised by self-love, as to 
appear like ministers of happiness or angels of light. 

Father. I do not think we shall gain anything by 
discussing the much debated question about the ex- 
istence of a devil; for, whether there be an evil spi- 
rit separate from man or not, I think it is very clear 
that, unless our first parents had possessed in them- 



selves a desire for the forbidden fruit, no persuasions 
of a disguised enemy could have induced them to eat 
it, contrary to the divine prohibition. A person with 
no appetite for food, would never fall into the vice of 
gluttony, especially if he knew that it would destroy 
his life. It is said, " The woman saw that the tree was 
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and 
a tree to be desired to make one wise" Consequently 
she had an appetite or desire to partake of. its fruit. 
This tree must have been created good, and intended 
for some good purpose; for when the work of crea- 
tion was finished, " God saw every thing he had 
made, and behold it was very good." Now let us 
recur to our own experience, and we shall find that 
all our animal appetites, and all our mental desires 
and affections, are not only necessary to our existence, 
but conducive to our happiness, when kept tinder the 
government of the Divine Spirit, which gives life 
to the soul. It is only when they are perverted from 
their original purpose that they become instruments 
of evil. Adam was created in the image of God ; 
that is to say, his mind was like the Divine mind, 
full of purity, benevolenee, and joy; and he enjoyed 
the privilege of spiritual communion with God; which 
is to partake of " the tree of life, which is in the 
midst of the paradise of God." Rev. ii. 7. But, 
although he was made a free agent, he was not intend- 
ed to be so independent of God, as to know of him- 
self what was good and what was evil, without wait* 
ing for divirfe direction. And when he presumed to 
set up his own will, and to be governed by it, in 
opposition to the Divine will, he assumed the place 
of God; and having thus turned away from the Holy 
Spirit, he ceased to partake of " the tree of life;" 
and, consequently, he died a spiritual death. It was 
thus that he experienced the fulfilment of the Divine 
prediction, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou 
shalt surely die;" for, " to be carnally minded is 
death;" but "to be spiritually minded is life and 
6 




54 

peace. " But in this state of alienation from God, 
Adam was not deserted by the mercy of his heavenly 
Parent; for he felt " the reproofs of instruction, which 
are the way of life. " That same Divine Word which 
had been his joy and his consolation while in a state 
of innocence, now became his reprover and his chas- 
tener. It was to him as "a flaming sword, turning 
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life," and 
to exclude him from the garden of Eden, which he 
was no longer worthy to enjoy. Every one who has 
attended to his own experience, knows what it is to 
be condemned for deviating from a known duty; how 
completely it shuts him out from a state of enjoyment, 
and prevents him from partaking of that peace of 
mind which is the reward of obedience. " For the 
word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than 
any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
row, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not 
manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and 
open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." 
Heb. iv. 12. How merciful, how beneficent, is the 
Divine Author of our being, that he will not suffer us 
to rest in peace, while in a state of disobedience to his 
holy law! For in this state of alienation from him we 
never could be happy. The happiness of man, both 
here and hereafter, is not made to depend upon any 
extraneous circumstances, such as the possession of an 
outward garden; but it depends upon the state of his 
mind, and the government of his affections. God is 
perfectly happy and beneficent himself, and he wills 
that all his creatures should be happy; but it is im- 
possible for any to participate in his happiness, with- 
out becoming in some degree " partakers of his na- 
ture," and by the operations of the Holy Spirit, be- 
ing renewed into the image of God, in which we 
were created. 






55 

John. This view of the subject is very different 
from the one I have always entertained, and it appears 
to me to be inconsistent with many passages in the 
Scriptures of truth, as well as some facts in the pre- 
sent condition of man, which I shall endeavour to 
state. In the first place, man being created in the 
image of God, he must have been immortal; not sub- 
ject to disease nor death, until he tasted the fruit of 
"that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste brought death 
into the world, with all our woe." But having bro- 
ken the Divine command, he incurred the penalty of 
death, which sentence was passed upon him when he 
was expelled from the garden; but the execution of 
the sentence was deferred for a long period; and he 
was doomed to eat his bread in the sweat of his face, 
till he returned unto the ground from whence he was 
taken. 

Secondly. When Adam had eaten of this forbidden 
fruit, he lost the Divine image of holiness, wisdom, 
and immortality; and while in this state, his children 
were born unto him in his own image of fallen nature; 
consequently, they must have been born in a state of 
sin, and subject to mortality. 

Thirdly. There are many passages in the Scriptures 
to confirm these views of the inherent depravity of 
man, through the sin of Adam. King David says, "I 
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
conceive me." And again, he says of the children of 
men, "They are all gone aside; they are altogether 
become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no not 
one." The apostle says, "We were by nature the 
children of wrath, even as others." It is also said in 
relation to the world before the flood, that " God saw 
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and 
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
only evil continually." That this state of depravity 
was owing to the sin of Adam, may be inferred from 
the writings of the apostle Paul; for he says, "As by 
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, 



M 



56 

and so death passed upon all men, for that all have 
sinned." Again, he says, " As by one man's diso- 
bedience many were made sinners, so by the obedi- 
ence of one shall many be made righteous:" for, "as 
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive." That God does impute the sins of the parents to 
the children, may be proved from his dealings with 
the children of Israel; for he said he would "visit 
the sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third 
and fourth generation." 

Lastly. I think these views are confirmed, by ob- 
serving the actual condition of mankind in the world 
around us. See how much misery there is, resulting 
from depravity and sin; what raging passions desolate 
the moral world; what horrid crimes pollute the cha- 
racters of men ! Surely the destroyer has been here, 
and has left only a w T reck behind, of all that once was 
so fair and beautiful. Nor is the corruption that reigns 
around us confined to the adult and the aged; even 
children seem to partake of it, and the first develop- 
ments of character are marked w T ith anger and impa- 
tience. 

Father. I shall endeavour to answer these objec- 
tions in the order in which they have been stated. 
And first : I agree that man, being in the Divine 
image, must have been immortal; but what part of 
him was made in the image of God? Surely it was 
not his earthly body; for " God is a Spirit," and " no 
man hath seen his shape at any time." I consider the 
body as the tabernacle or house in which the immor- 
tal soul dwells, during its state of probation, and I be- 
lieve it was so considered by the inspired penmen; 
for Paul speaks of "our earthly house of this taber- 
nacle being dissolved." 2 Cor. v. 1. To say that the 
sentence of death was passed upon Adam when he was 
driven from Paradise, but the execution of the sen- 
tence was postponed for about nine hundred years, 
seems to me to be a very imperfect fulfilment of the 
Divine prediction, "In the day thou eatest thereof 



57 

thou shalt surely die." Let us suppose that Adam, 
and all his posterity, had continued in the body until 
the present period, and that they had gone on to 
"multiply and replenish the earth," without any be- 
ing removed by death; where would the countless 
myriads have found room for existence? I have no 
idea that the human body was ever intended to be 
immortal; for it was made of earthly materials, which 
are subject to decay; and we know that our bodies 
are continually changing by absorption and secretion, 
so that the particles which composed them at one pe- 
riod of life, are entirely removed at another. I do not 
think the mortality of our bodies is any proof of our 
being born in a state of sin; for even the holy body 
of the Messiah was liable to death, or else he could 
not have been slain. He called his body his temple, 
saying, " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will 
raise it up." When I say that "the wages of sin is 
death" to the soul, I do not mean that the soul of the 
sinner ceases to exist, but that it ceases to be actuated 
by the Spirit of God, who is the life of the righteous 
soul: for it is said in the Scriptures, that "they who 
are living in pleasures, are dead while they live." 
They have lost the influences of Divine life, and are 
like withered branches, ready to be cut off. 

The second objection, is founded on the children 
being born in the image of their parents. Now it 
is not said in Genesis, that Adam's children were 
all born in his image; for Seth is the only one men- 
tioned as being born in his father's likeness. It is 
not an unusual thing, in the present day, for a child 
to bear the image of his father stamped on his per- 
son; but who among us would be so unjust as to im- 
pute to children the guilt of their parents, from a cir- 
cumstance like this? It is said in the apocryphal book 
of the wisdom of Solomon, that by Divine Wisdom 
" the first formed father of the world was brought out 
of -his fall;" and if any of his children were born af- 
ter he was thus restored to the Divine image, can w§ 
6* 



^r^a. 



58 

suppose that these would be purer than the rest? I do 
not think they would, for we find no such effects in 
the present day. 

I believe that every soul is the immediate gift and 
creation of God, agreeably to Scripture testimony, 
" The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the 
spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecc. xii. 
7. If, therefore, the soul or spirit of man be the gift 
of God, it must come pure out of his hands. 

The third objection rests upon passages of Scrip- 
ture, all of which admit of a different interpretation, 
and one that is far more consistent with the character 
of a wise and benevolent Creator. A number of these 
passages speak in general terms of the whole human 
race, as being in a corrupt or fallen state, which I 
readily grant was true; but the Scriptures themselves 
mention a number of exceptions. For instance, it is 
said of man before the flood, that "every imagination 
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continual- 
ly;" and that " God looked upon the earth, and be- 
hold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his 
way upon the earth" Yet it is said in the same 
chapter, that Noah, who was then living, was "a just 
ma?i, and perfect in his generation," and that "Noah 
walked with God." 

It is very common, even now, to speak of cities 
and nations, in general terms, and to give to* a whole 
people the character which we think generally pre- 
vails among them; but no one supposes, that in such 
cases, there are not many exceptions. For my own 
part, I believe that there always have been good peo- 
ple in every age of the world, and that many who 
have passed through life unnoticed in the vale of ob- 
scurity, are now enjoying their reward in heaven. — 
There are a great many excellent characters mention- 
ed in the Bible, and some who are represented as 
perfect. "Enoch walked with God three hundred 
years, and he was not, for God took him." " Noah 
was a just man, and perfect in his generation." Job 



59 

was " perfect and upright," and one that "feared God 
and eschewed evil." It is said of Abraham, that he 
" obeyed the voice of God, and kept his command- 
ments, and his statutes, and his laws." Gen. xxvi. 5. 
And he obtained the dignified title of "the friend of 
God." James ii. 23. The character of Joseph appears 
to have been without blemish, and it is said, "The 
Lord was with him." The prophet Samuel was called 
in childhood to the service of God, and served him 
all his days. 

It appears that there were good men in the days of 
king David, for he says, "Mark the perfect man, 
and behold the upright, for the end of that man is 
peace." There is reason to believe that Elijah was 
a perfect man, for he was translated; and Daniel, and 
some others of the prophets, appear to have lived in 
great favour with God. If such a state of perfection 
was attained by some before the Christian dispensa- 
tion, may we not conclude that there have been a 
still greater number of such characters since? 

There is not a single passage in the Scriptures, 
which says that the guilt of Adam is imputed* to his 
offspring; — they do not even prove that .there is any 
inherent depravity in man. The expressions of Da- 
vid, where he says, " I was shapen in iniquity, and 
in sin did my mother conceive me," (Ps. Ii. 5,) were 
uttered at a time when he was under deep conviction 
for actual transgression; but if they must be taken 
literally, they only prove that his mother was a 
sinner. 

What is sin ? Is it not " the transgression of the 
law ?" and " where there is no law, there is no trans- 
gression." Jesus said of the Jews, "If I had not 
come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin; 
but now they have no cloak for their sin." John xv. 
22. The spirit of Christ still makes known to every 
man his duty; and until we disobey him, we have no 
sin. It is true that it is said, "By the disobedience 
of one man many have been made sinners^" but this 



60 

expression may be applied to others besides Adam. 
It is said of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he 
" made Israel to sin;" and that "the children of Israel 
walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did ; they 
departed not from them." Wherefore it is said, that 
Josiah "made all that were present in Israel to serve 
the Lord their God; and all his days they departed 
not from following the Lord, the God of their fa- 
thers." Now, when we consider the relation in 
which Adam stood to the human family, it is not sur- 
prising that many of them should follow his early ex- 
ample; and that these, again, should influence others 
to swerve from the path of rectitude. Such a result 
is perfectly consistent with what we know of the 
character of man. 

The apostle Paul, after speaking of "the children 
of disobedience," Eph. ii. 3, says, "Among whom 
we also had our conversation in times past, in the 
lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh 
and of the mind, and were by nature the children 
of wrath, even as others." But in another place, 
the same apostle says, "The gentiles, which have not 
the law, do, by nature the things contained in the 
law; these having not the law, are a law unto them- 
selves, which show forth the works of the law writ- 
ten in their hearts." Rom. ii. 14. 

Now, if the first of these texts proves that some 
men have been sinners "by nature" the second one 
proves that others have been righteous " by nature" 
I understand the apostle's doctrine to be, that when 
we "fulfil the desires of the flesh and of the mind," 
we come into the nature of the children of wrath, 
who are the children of disobedience: but when we 
show forth the works of the Divine law written in our 
hearts, we become "partakers of the Divine nature." — 
"As by one man sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for 
thai all have sinned." Here the reason is assigned 
why spiritual death hath passed upon all men; it is 



61 

because all have sinned, and not because of any im- 
puted guilt. And the same apostle has said, that "as 
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. " He does not say that we all died in Adam; 
but he speaks in the present tense, and says, " In 
Adam all die." Now let us. consider what nature it 
is that we have derived from Adam. Is it not our 
animal nature? It cannot be our spiritual nature; for 
God only is "the Father of spirits." Heb. xii. 9. If, 
then, we are governed by this animal or earthly na- 
ture, which we derive from Adam, we die; for "to 
be carnally minded is death;" but if we become obe- 
dient to " the law of the spirit of life in Christ Je- 
sus," we shall live; for to "be spiritually minded is 
life and peace." The name Adam, signifies earthy; 
and the apostle says, "The first man is of the earth, 
earthy." The first developments which take place 
in the infancy of man, are his animal appetites; for, 
"that is not first which is spiritual, but that which 
is natural, and afterwards that which is spiritual." 
These appetites are necessary to our animal existence, 
and they are not evil in themselves, but they become 
evil to us, when we suffer them to have dominion 
over us; for they are good servants, but bad masters. 
It is abundantly evident, from the convictions of 
our own minds, as well as from the Scriptures, that 
God does not impute to us any sins but those which 
we have ourselves committed; for who has ever felt 
any compunction for the sins of his ancestors? If, 
therefore, "our heart condemn us not, then have we 
confidence towards God." 1 John iii. 21. It is true, 
that God said to the children of Israel, "I the Lord 
thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of 
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation;" but observe, he adds, "of them that 
hate me" Ex. xx. 5. It is evident, however, that 
we do feel the natural effects of our fathers' conduct, 
whether it be good or whether it be evil. He whose 
life is regulated by the principles of pure religion, 



62 

endeavours to bring up his children in the way they 
should go, and when he is gone, they will feel the 
good effects of his virtuous example and unsullied re- 
putation. But, on the contrary, the wicked man of- 
ten subjects his children to misery and disgrace, even 
to the third and fourth generation. How awful, then, 
is the responsibility of parents ! How should these 
considerations incite us to diligence and watchfulness, 
lest it be said to us in the day of solemn reckoning, 
" Where are the lambs I committed to thy charge?" 
So far is the doctrine of original sin from being 
taught in the Bible, that there are several passages 
directly against it. One of the most striking of these 
is in the book of the prophet Ezekiel, who was sent 
to the children of Israel, expressly to reprove them 
for having taught this doctrine. He says, " What 
mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land 
of Israel, saying, the fathers have eaten sour grapes, 
and the children's teeth are set on edge? As I live, 
saith the Lord, ye shall not have occasion any more 
to use this proverb in Israel. Behold .all souls are 
mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of 
the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." 
xviii. 2-4. " Yet, say ye, why? doth not the son bear 
the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done 
that w T hich is lawful and right, and hath kept all my 
statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The 
soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not 
bear the iiiiquity of the father, neither shall the fa- 
ther bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness 
of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wicked- 
ness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the 
wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath com- 
mitted, and keep all my statutes, and do that which 
is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not 
die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, 
they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righ- 
teousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I 
any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith 



63 

the Lord God: and not that he should return from his 
ways and live." ver. 19-25. " Yet ye say, the way of 
the Lord is not equal. Hear now, house of Israel! 
Is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal ?" 
v. 25. 

This language appears to me as strong as it could 
be against the doctrine of original sin. The language 
of Jesus Christ is also conclusive on this point. He 
says, "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to 
come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
" Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted, 
and become as little children, ye shall not enter into 
the kingdom of heaven." Mat. xviii. 3, and xix. 14. 
Now it is evident from this, that little children must 
be born in a state of purity; for no unclean thing can 
enter into the kingdom of God. 

I shall now proceed to consider the fourth and last 
objection, which relates to the present condition of 
man, as displayed in the world around us. And I must 
acknowledge, that a large proportion of mankind ap- 
pear to be so far alienated from the Divine harmony, 
that we may consider them in a fallen state; but this 
fact being admitted, it does not follow, as a necessary 
consequence, that they were born in a state of impu- 
rity and sin; it only shows that all are born with ap- 
petites and propensities, which, if improperly indul- 
ged, will lead to sin; and Adam himself must have 
been created with similar appetites, or else he never 
would have fallen. Let us examine some of these 
appetites and desires, and I think we shall find them 
wisely adapted to the condition of man. 

The first appetite that we discover in infancy, is 
hunger, which prompts the child to partake of food, 
before it can reason upon its use; and if its food is 
withheld, it is prompted to cry for it, so as to excite 
the compassion of its parents. But it is not in child- 
hood only that this appetite is subservient to our wel- 
fare. How many there are who would neglect the 
proper nourishment of their bodies, if they were not 



64 

impelled to it by the cravings of hunger, and by the 
hope of that pleasurable sensation which is derived 
from partaking of food? Yet the desire for food, thus 
produced in man, will, if improperly indulged, lead 
to the vice of gluttony. Nearly the same observa- 
tions will apply to the appetite of thirst, and the plea* 
sure that attends its gratification: yet the inordinate 
indulgence of this appetite leads to the dreadful vice 
of intemperance, which has wrought such misery and 
desolation in the human family. The desire for rest 
is also necessary for recruiting our bodily strength, 
and its gratification is attended with a sensible plea- 
sure; but its improper indulgence leads to indolence, 
disease, and depravity. The desire for action is one 
of our natural propensities, that is very conspicuous in 
childhood, and its exercise is conducive to the health 
of both body and mind. It is this that often impels 
to useful labour, and renders even labour a pleasure. 
But how many evils arise from the desire of employ- 
ment, when it takes a wrong direction? Thus the vice 
of gambling is one among the many expedients that 
have been invented "to kill time," and to fill up 
those vacant hours, which ought to be devoted to no* 
bier purposes. The desire for knowledge is one of 
the noblest faculties of the mind, and the exercise of 
it is accompanied by an exalted pleasure: yet this de- 
sire, when directed to frivolous or useless objects, de- 
generates into a vain curiosity, which is productive of 
evil. 

Thus we might proceed to examine all the desires 
and affections of our animal and spiritual natures, and 
we should find them all to be the good gifts of a gra- 
cious God, and u trees of his right-hand planting:" 
but, like the elements of the natural world, they are 
all liable to abuse. Thus conjugal and parental love 
are good in themselves, but they may degenerate into 
idolatry. Emulation may lead to envy ; and the desire 
for power may end in avarice or ambition. 

It has pleased the benevolent Author of our being, 



65 

to attach a peculiar pleasure to the gratification of 
these desires, when they are kept within their pro- 
per bounds: but no sooner do we indulge them be- 
yond this point, than they become the instruments of 
our chastisement. Even that natural feeling of dis- 
pleasure or aversion, which is occasioned by a posi- 
tive injury inflicted upon ourselves or upon others, 
if it be permitted to arise to anger, will give us pain. 
Yet I believe it is a good principle, when directed 
only against the toickedness of men, without being 
accompanied by any ill-will towards them; for the 
Divine Being himself condemns " all unrighteous- 
ness," at the same time that he is "kind even to the 
unthankful and to the evil." 

How beautiful — how perfectly adapted to our wants, 
is the original constitution of man ! especially when 
we take into view that Divine principle of light which 
shines in the soul, and enables us to perceive what is 
our duty towards God and our fellow-men; which is 
comprehended in " doing justly, loving mercy, and 
walking humbly with God !" Mich. vi. 8. The vir- 
tuous affections have been likened to the gales which 
waft the vessel on her way, and this Divine monitor 
is the pilot, who sits at the helm and guides her to the 
destined port. How much it is to be lamented that 
the free teachings of this Divine principle are neglect- 
ed, while so many are looking outward, to men and 
to books, for instruction, instead of looking within 
themselves for the kingdom of heaven, which consists 
in " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spi- 
rit !" 

John. I remember, that in our last conversation, 
thou told us, that man has " nothing good in himself." 
Does not that sentiment conflict with some of the 
views thou hast just expressed? 

Father. I said he had nothing good in himself, in* 
dependent of the Ditine Being, which does not 
conflict with my present views; for "there is but 
7 



66 

one that is good, that is God." However noble may 
be the faculties he has given to man, they cease to be 
good, as soon as they cease to be governed by him, 
God is the sun and centre of his spiritual creation; 
and as soon as we depart from under the restraining 
influence of his love, we fall into a state of disorder 
and confusion. But he desires that we should serve 
him from choice, and not from compulsion; and there- 
fore, while he has bound the material universe in 
chains, he has " left free the human will." 

All the dealings of God towards his creatures are 
founded in eternal love: even the sufferings which 
result from the abuse of his gifts, seem intended to 
bring back the delinquents to the path of rectitude, 
which is the only state where happiness can be attain- 
ed. His commands and his prohibitions are all for 
our good, and are wisely designed for the promotion 
of our present and eternal welfare. It is a law which 
he has stamped upon our nature, that virtue will al- 
ways produce happiness, and vice will always bring 
misery: they do so now, and they must continue to 
do so forever. How important then it is, that we 
should cultivate those benevolent affections, which 
are calculated to bring us into the image of God; for, 
as we become " partakers of his nature," we shall par- 
ticipate in his happiness; and when we leave this 
scene of probation, we shall be fitted to enter into 
those spiritual joys which are prepared for the righ- 
teous. 

How ardently do I desire that all my fellow crea- 
tures may become sensible of the true dignity of man; 
which does not depend on the abundance of riches, 
nor on the attainments of learning, nor on the posses- 
sion of intellectual power; but it consists in being 
made "partakers of the Divine nature," enjoying 
communion with the Holy Spirit, and becoming 
" heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." 



67 



CONVERSATION IV. 



ON THE DIVINE BEING. 

James. Since our last interview, brother John and 
I have been conversing on the attributes of the Di- 
vine Being, and his manifestations to the children of 
men, in different ages of the world. He appears to 
think there is something so mysterious in the subject, 
that we ought to believe without understanding it; 
but I am opposed to every thing like implicit belief; 
and as different doctrines are taught among men, I 
cannot believe any of them, until the subject shall be- 
come clear to my own understanding. 

John. Here is the difference between brother James 
and myself: he is determined to measure every 
thing by his own finite understanding, even the three- 
fold existence of the infinite God; but I do not feel 
at liberty to doubt any thing that appears to be clear- 
ly recorded in the Holy Scriptures, although it may 
be beyond my limited comprehension: for I find, that 
even in the works of creation, there are many things 
that I do not understand, yet it is impossible to doubt 
them. For instance, I know there is an intimate con- 
nexion between the soul and the body, and yet I can- 
not understand how they are united, nor how a ma- 
terial body can be acted on by an immaterial soul. 
We cannot understand how the simplest operations in 
nature take place. For example, the growth of grass 
is a fact that we all acknowledge, but we do not un- 
derstand how it takes place. I therefore conclude, 
that it would be a piece of great folly in me to attempt 
to understand the mystery of three persons in the 
Godhead; for if the Scriptures assure us of the fact, 
I ask no further evidence. 

Father. I am willing to explain to you my views 
upon the subject, and I wish you to state all the ob- 



68 

jections that may occur to you; for it is my desire 
that we may all be seekers of truth, and not the cham- 
pions of a party. Before I proceed to state my views 
upon the main question, 1 must make a few r remarks 
upon the subject of belief. 

It appears to me, that belief does not depend en- 
tirely upon our own will; for "we often hear things 
asserted, that we could not believe if we were to try. 
If a man who was really very sick, were told by his 
physician that he was not sick, and that he might get 
up and walk, it is very certain that the sick man 
would not believe him, although he might wish it 
were in his power to believe. 

Belief depends upon the weight of evidence pre- 
sented before the mind, and upon our having a clear 
perception of that evidence. If the mind be clouded 
by the prejudices of education, or biassed by interest, 
it will not always perceive the evidence on both sides, 
that may be presented to it; which is a fact that may 
be illustrated by our outward vision: for when a great 
number of objects are presented before us at the same 
time, the eye will naturally rest upon those objects 
which are most agreeable to us, and will sometimes 
overlook other objects, so as not to perceive them at 
all. We therefore make up our opinions according to 
the evidence that ive perceive; and if we perceive only 
a part of the evidence, we may be irresistably led to 
form an erroneous opinion. But if, at any time after- 
wards, we come to perceive the remaining evidence, 
we shall then be obliged to change this opinion. 
Therefore, I do not condemn any man for entertain- 
ing opinions different from my own; for I conclude 
that one or the other of us has not seen the subject in 
all its bearings; and I feel assured, that if we are both 
faithful to put in practice all that we do know to be 
good, the Divine Being will not leave us without suf- 
ficient light to guide our steps in the way that leads 
to eternal peace. There are many facts which we 
cannot explain, and yet we are obliged to believe 



69 

them, because the evidence of their existence is so 
plain as to leave no room for doubt. In this case, it is 
the fact that is the object of our belief, and not the 
manner or process by which the fact has been pro- 
duced; for if this process be hidden from us, it can- 
not be an object of belief For instance, in the cases 
mentioned by John; the union of the soul and body, 
and the action of the soul upon the body, are facts 
which I cannot doubt; but the manner in which they 
are united, and the principle by which the soul acts 
upon the body, are hidden from me, and consequent- 
ly, this manner and this principle, are not the ob- 
jects of my belief. That the grass grows is a fact for 
which I have the evidence of my senses; but so far 
as I cannot perceive the process by which it grows, 
this process is not an object of my belief. The human 
mind is so constituted, that we cannot believe with- 
out sufficient evidence; nor can we believe any pro- 
position that contains in itself a contradiction or an 
absurdity: for no evidence can prove a thing that 
contradicts itself. For instance, if a person were to 
say, that a part of any given thing is as large as the 
whole of it: here is a contradiction that no authority 
whatever could make me believe. Compulsion may 
make hypocrites, but it never can make believers. It 
is related of Socrates, that when he was asked his 
opinion of some writings that were very obscure, he 
replied that he approved of those parts which he un- 
derstood, and he therefore concluded, that the parts 
which he did not understand were equally good. This 
is the conclusion I have formed with regard to the 
Scriptures; and, therefore, I am far from rejecting 
any passage which I do not understand: for I appre- 
hend there may be truths contained in such passages, 
which, in a more advanced stage of experience, will 
become clear to my mind. 

James. This explanation is satisfactory to me; but 
I believe it is very common for men to withdraw 

their attention from that kind of evidence which does 

7* 



70 

not accord with their prejudices and passions; and 
this is a species of wilful neglect, for which we shall 
certainly be held accountable. The term mystery, 
which is so often used by religious teachers, in order 
to extricate themselves from the absurdities of their 
own doctrines, has been perverted from its original 
meaning. A mystery, among the ancients, was not 
a doctrine supposed to be incomprehensible in itself; 
but it was something that was hidden, or withheld 
from the public, and only revealed to a favoured few; 
and, therefore, when it was revealed to any one, it 
was no longer a mystery to him. 

Father. There are two kinds of mysteries men- 
tioned in the Scriptures. The first is that kind to 
which Christ alludes, when he says to his disciples, " It 
is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom 
of heaven, but to them it is not given. " Mat. xiii. 11. 
These mysteries are not revealed through the wisdom 
or learning of man; for he says, "I thank thee, 
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid 
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast re- 
vealed them unto babes: even so, Father, for so it 
seemed good in thy sight/' Luke x. 21. "Even the 
mystery " says the apostle, " which hath been hid 
from ages and from generations, but now is made 
manifest to his saints; to whom God would make 
known what is the riches of the glory of this ?nys- 
tery among the gentiles; which is, Christ in you, the 
hope of glory." Col. i. 26, 27. 

From these passages it appears, that the mysteries 
of the kingdom of God are only revealed to the chil- 
dren of the kingdom, who are the meek, the humble, 
the teachable as babes, and they are hidden from the 
wise and prudent of this world; that is, from those 
who attempt to understand them by the wisdom and 
learning of man, without coming to the experimental 
knowledge of the truth. There is, however, another 
kind of mystery, called the "mystery of iniquity " 



71 

which the apostle Paul said had begun to work, even 
in his day, and should be more fully revealed in "the 
man of sin and son of perdition, " who "opposes and 
exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is 
worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of 
God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thes. ii. 3-7. 
This is the some kind of mystery which the apostle 
John alludes to in the Revelations; for he describes 
the apostate church as " a woman sitting upon a scar- 
let coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy; and 
upon her forehead was a name written, " Mystery, 
Babylon the great" It appears that the apostle 
Paul forewarned the church of Colosse against the 
particular snare that would cause this " falling away ;" 
for he says, " As ye have therefore received Jesus 
Christ the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built 
up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have 
been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy 
and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after 
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ; for 
in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodi- 
ly." Col. ii. 6-9. 

Let us now turn our attention to the history of the 
Christian church, and trace the progress of this " mys- 
tery of iniquity," until it became inscribed on the 
very front of her doctrines. In order to show this, 
I will quote a few sentences from Mosheim's Eccle- 
siastical History, which is generally esteemed the best. 
In his account of the first century, he says: — " The 
method of teaching the sacred doctrines of religion, 
was at this time most simple, far removed from all 
the subtle rules of philosophy, and all the precepts of 
human art. This appears abundantly, not only in 
the writings of the apostles, but also in all those of 
the second century, which have survived the ruins of 
time. Neither did the apostles, or their disciples, ever 
think of collecting into a regular system the princi- 
pal doctrines of the Christian religion, or of demon- 



72 

strating them in a scientific and geometrical order. 
The beautiful and candid simplicity of those early 
ages, rendered such philosophical niceties unnecessa- 
ry; and the great study of those who embraced the 
gospel, was, rather to express its divine influence in 
their dispositions and actions, than to examine its 
doctrines with an excessive curiosity, or to explain 
them by the rules of human wisdom. There is indeed 
extant, a brief summary of the principal doctrines of 
Christianity in that form, which bears the name of 
the apostles' creed, and which, from the fourth cen- 
tury downwards, was almost generally considered a 
production of the apostles. All, however, who have 
the least knowledge of antiquity look upon this opi- 
nion as entirely false, and destitute of all founda- 
tion."* In treating of the second century, he says, 
" This venerable simplicity was not indeed of a long 
duration; its beauty was gradually effaced by the la- 
borious efforts of human learning, and the dark 
subtleties of imaginary science. Acute researches were 
employed upon several religious subjects, concerning 
which ingenious decisions were pronounced; and, 
what was worst of all, several tenets of a chimerical 
philosophy were imprudently incorporated into the 
Christian system. "t 

In reviewing the doctrines of the third century, he 
says: u But the Christian doctors, who had applied 
themselves to the study of letters and philosophy, 
soon abandoned the frequented paths, and struck out 
into the devious wilds of fancy. The Egyptians dis- 
tinguished themselves in this new method of explain- 
ing the truth. **J But when he comes to the fourth 
century, he says, " The fundamental principles of the 
Christian doctrine, were preserved hitherto uncor- 
rupted and entire, in most churches, though it must 
be confessed, that they were often explained and de- 
fended in a manner that discovered the greatest ig- 
norance and utter confusion of ideas. The disputes 

* Ecc. His. London Ed. 1826. p. 84. t p. 135. X p. 200. 



73 

carried on in the Council of Nice, concerning the 
three persons in the Godhead, afford a remarkable 
example of this, particularly in the language and ex- 
planations of those who approved of the decisions of 
that council. So little light, precision, and order, 
reigned in their discourses, that they appear to sub- 
stitute three Gods instead of one."* Again, he says: 
"The faction of the Donatists was not the only one 
that troubled the church during this century. Soon 
after its commencement, even in the year 317, a new 
contention arose in Egypt, upon a subject of much 
higher importance, and with consequences of a yet 
more pernicious nature. The subject of this fatal 
controversy, which kindled such deplorable divisions 
throughout the Christian world, was the doctrine of 
three persons in the Godhead; a doctrine which, in 
the three preceding centuries, had happily escaped 
the vain curiosity of human researches, and been 
left undefined and undetermined by any particular 
set of ideas, "t The emperor Constantine assembled, 
in the year 325, the famous council at Nice, in By- 
thinia, wherein the deputies of the church universal 
were summoned to put an end to this controversy. 
In this council, "after many keen debates and violent 
efforts of the two parties, the doctrine of Arius was 
condemned; Christ declared consubstantial, or of the 
same essence with the Father; the vanquished pres- 
byter banished among the Illyrians, and his follow- 
ers compelled to give their assent to the creed or 
confession of faith which was composed by this coun- 
cil.^ 

Thus was established by law, for the first time, the 
doctrine of the trinity; which, it does not appear, 
was ever heard of till nearly 300 years after the pro- 
mulgation of Christianity. This doctrine seems to 
have originated in the speculations of visionary phi- 
losophers, — it was established by a council of con- 
tentious bishops, — and enforced by the sword of a 

*Ecc.His. Lon. Ed. 1826, p. 269. 1p. 302. X p. 305 



74 

Roman emperor. Previous to this time, different 
opinions had been entertained on this subject, "with- 
out giving the least offence;"* but now " the wo- 
man" was seated on the beast of temporal power; the 
name of "mystery" was written on her forehead; 
and she went on from this period, multiplying her 
absurd doctrines and ridiculous ceremonies, and per- 
secuting all who would not conform to them; until 
at length she became " drunken with the blood of the 
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus." 

James. This piece of history is very instructive; 
it shows us how very dangerous it is to give up our 
own understandings, and to receive without examina- 
tion whatever doctrines may be taught by the minis- 
ters of religion. Every practical Christian, who 
reads his Bible and examines the book of his own ex- 
perience, is just as capable of judging for himself as 
the most learned priest or professor of theology. It 
appears that the scholastic divines of the fourth cen- 
tury, not only forced a creed upon the people, but 
many of the bishops had the address to obtain large 
revenuest for teaching these mysteries, which they 
did not themselves understand. If people can only 
be persuaded to shut their eyes, they may be led any 
where; for then they can no longer distinguish be- 
tween darkness and light. 

John. It appears to me, that the doctrine of the 
trinity is taught in the Scriptures, although the name 
is not found there. I cannot see how any person who 
believes in the divinity of Christ can doubt this doc- 
trine; for if we believe that the Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost, are each of them Divine, it appears to 
me that the doctrine is established, — unless we say 
that these are only three different names for one and 
the same Being. 

Father. I believe in the divinity of Christ, but 
I cannot receive the doctrine of three persons in one 

*Eec. His. Lon. Ed. 1826, p. 303. tMosheim, p. 195. 



2 



?5 

God. The views of William Penn on this subject, 
are so consistent with my own, and so well express- 
ed, that I will quote them to you. He says, "I sin- 
cerely own, and unfeignedly believe in ONE, holy, 
just, merciful, almighty, and eternal God, who is the 
father of all things; that appeared to the holy patriarchs 
and prophets of old, at sundry times and in divers 
manners; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the everlast- 
ing wisdom, divine power, true light, only Saviour 
and preserver of all, the same ONE, holy, just, merci- 
ful, almighty, and eternal God, who in the fulness 
of time took and was manifested in the flesh; at which 
time he preached (and his disciples after him) the 
everlasting gospel of repentance, and promise of re- 
mission of sins and eternal life to all that heard and 
obeyed ; who said, He that is with you, (in the 
flesh.) shall be in you, (by the spirit,) and though he 
left them, (as to the flesh,) yet not comfortless, for he 
would come to them again, (in the spirit;) for a little 
time they should not see him, (as to the flesh,) again 
a little while and they should see him (in the spirit;) 
for the Lord (Jesus Christ) is that Spirit, a manifes- 
tation whereof is given to every man to profit withal. 
In which Holy Spirit I believe as the same almigh- 
ty and eternal God; who, as in those times he ended 
all shadows, and became the infallible guide to them 
that walked therein, by which they were adopted 
heirs and co-heirs of glory; so am I a living witness 
that the same holy, just, merciful, almighty, and 
eternal God, is now, as then, (after this tedious night 
of idolatry, superstition, and human inventions, that 
hath overspread the world,) gloriously manifested, to 
save from all iniquity, and to conduct unto the holy 
land of pure and endless peace; in a word, to taber- 
nacle in men."* — [See Penn's Innocency with her 
open face.] 

* See 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6; Heb. i. 1; 1 Cor. viii. 6; John i. 14; 1 Tim. 
iii. 16; Mat. iv. 17; Luke xxiv. 47; John xiv. 17, 18, xvi. 16; 2 Cor. iii. 
17; 1 Cor. i. 7; Rom. viii. 14, 17; Rev. xxi. 3; Prov. xxviii. 13. 



John. Although I acknowledge that William Penn 
was a great and good man, I cannot take his expres- 
sions as sufficient authority; I look to a higher source, 
even to the Scriptures of truth, for evidence on this 
important question. Now, the Scriptures appear to 
me to speak of the Deity in a threefold sense: — first, 
as the Creator and Father of all; secondly, as the 
Son, who is the mediator between God and man; and 
thirdly, as the Holy Ghost, who is sent by the Fa- 
ther and the Son, to sanctify the heart and regulate 
the affections. Yet it is repeatedly said in the Old 
and New Testament, that God is one; therefore, we 
conclude that there are three persons in one God, — 
each of which persons is perfect in himself, possess- 
ing omnipotence, omniscience, and eternity; the 
" same in substance, equal in power, eternity, and 
glory." [See Westminster Confession.] I shall now 
endeavour to prove these positions by passages from 
Scripture. 

1st. That there is more than one person in the 
Godhead, may be inferred from the following texts: 
"God said, let wsmake man in our image, after our 
likeness." Gen. i. 26. "And the Lord God said, the 
man has become as one of us, to know good and evil." 
Gen. iii. 26. And the prophet says, u I heard the 
voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who 
shall go for us?" Is. vi. 8. We are also informed by 
learned men, that the name most commonly given to 
the Deity, in the Old Testament, is Elohim, which is 
a plural noun; and this has been considered a strong 
proof that there is a plurality of persons in the God- 
head. 

2d. That the number of persons in the Deity is 
three, may be concluded from the words of our Lord, 
who said to his disciples, "Go ye, therefore, and 
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
Mat. xxviii. 19. And also from the benediction of 
the apostle Paul, who says, " The grace of our Lord 



— 



77 

Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion 
of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 1 Cor. xiii. 14. 

3d. We argue that each of these is, in some sense 
distinct, because one is represented as the Father, who 
sends ; another as the Son, who is sent into the 
world; and the third as the Spirit, that was poured 
out upon all flesh. The Father and Son are also re- 
presented, in many places, as speaking to each other, 
which shows that they must be distinct from each 
other in one sense, although for ever united in an- 
other. Now, I think it may be proved that each of 
these persons is Divine, and consequently, co-eternal 
and co-equal. That the Father is omnipotent, omni- 
scient, and eternal, will, I suppose, be admitted with- 
out argument. That the Son is so, may be shown 
from the introduction to the Gospel by St. John. " In 
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the 
beginning with God. All things were made by him, 
and without him was not any thing made that was 
made." Ch. i. 2. "And the Word was made flesh and 
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory 
as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace 
and truth." ver. 14. There are many other texts of simi- 
lar import, but I shall quote only one more, which I 
consider sufficient. St. Paul says, " God, who at 
sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in time 
past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these 
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath 
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made 
the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and 
the express image of his person, and upholding all 
things by the word of his power, when he had by 
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand 
of the Majesty on high." Heb. i. 1-3. 

That the Holy Ghost is not only Divine, but per- 
sonally distinct from the others, may be inferred from 
the operations assigned to them being generally dif- 
ferent. He is represented as the baptising power; 
8 



78 

Christians are also said to be born of the Spirit: and 
Christ promised his disciples, " I will pray the Fa- 
ther, and he shall give you another Comforter *, that 
he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of 
truth. " John xiv. 16. 

4th. Having now shown from Scripture that there 
are three persons in the Deity, it only remains to be 
proved that Jesus Christ is the second person, or Lo- 
gos, mysteriously united to "a human body and ra- 
tional soul," and born of a virgin; and this has been 
called the hypostatical union. This may be proved 
from many passages. It is said, " He took not on 
him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed 
of Abraham; wherefore, in all things it behoved him 
to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a 
merciful and faithful high-priest, in things pertaining 
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the peo- 
ple; for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, 
he is able to succour them that are tempted." Heb. 
ii. 16-18. He is also called, "God manifest in the 
flesh." 1 Tim. iii. 16. "God with us." "The Lord of 
glory." 1 Cor. iii. 8. And, "over all, God blessed 
for ever/ 5 Rom. ix. 5. That he had a human soul, as 
well as a human body, is very clear; for he says, 
"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." 
"Yet his human nature must not be confounded with 
his divine; for, though there be an union of natures 
in Christ, yet there is not a mixture, or confusion of 
them or their properties. His humanity is not chang- 
ed into his Deity; nor his Deity into his humanity; 
but the two natures are distinct in one person. How 
this union exists is above our comprehension; and in- 
deed, if we cannot explain how our bodies and souls 
are united, it is not to be supposed we can explain 
this astonishing mystery of God manifest in the 
flesh." — [See Buck's Theo. Diet, article Jesus Christ; 
also, Smith's Treatise on the Trinity.] 

Father. Those who profess to derive their doctrines 



79 

entirely from the Scriptures, ought to be very careful 
to keep to the language of Scripture, especially when 
speaking on a subject that they do not pretend to un- 
derstand. If the doctrine of a trinity be taught in the 
Scriptures, it must be conveyed by inspiration in the 
very best language which could be chosen; and there 
is no need of inventing new terms to express it. But 
we do not find any such term in the Scriptures as a 
trinity; nor is it said that there are three persons in. 
the Godhead; nor is there any language there con- 
veying the same ideas. I therefore conclude, that 
this doctrine is an invention of men; and it must be 
acknowledged by every reader of history, that it has 
been one of the principal causes of dissention and per- 
secution ever since it was introduced into the church. 
If we take the word person in its common accepta- 
tion, it means an individual or a being; and if we say 
there are three infinite persons in one Being, each 
of whom has all power and all wisdom, the proposi- 
tion contains in itself a contradiction, that is obvious 
to the meanest capacity. Therefore, the advocates 
of this doctrine are obliged to admit that the term 
person does not exactly convey their meaning, and 
that they only use it for want of a better. Why then 
should they contend so strenuously for words that do 
not convey their meaning? 

I shall now proceed to examine the foundation on 
which this doctrine rests. 

In the first place, — It is said that the use of the 
plural pronouns us and our, ascribed to the Divine 
Being, and the circumstance of t>ne of the names giv- 
en to him in the Scriptures being a plural noun, in- 
dicate that there is more than one person in the Dei- 
ty. This peculiarity in the Hebrew language,* has 

* The late learned and amiable Hindoo reformer, Rammohun Roy, 
remarks: " Were we even to disregard totally the idiom of the He- 
brew, Arabic, and of almost all Asiatic languages, in which the plu- 
ral number is often used for the singular, to express the respect due to 
the person denoted by the noun; and to understand the term, " our 
image" and "our likeness," found in the verse, [Gen. i. 26,] as convey- 



80 

furnished one of the strong arguments of trinitarians; 
but they appear to forget that the same kind of plural 
language was applied to the golden calf, which the 
children of Israel worshiped in the wilderness, — al- 
though it is very evident that there was but one calf 
made on that occasion. It is said, that the people 
brought their golden ear rings to Aaron, "and he re- 

ing a plural meaning, the quotation would still by no means answer 
their purpose; for the verse in question would in that case imply a 
plurality of Gods, without determining whether their number was three 
or three hundred, and of course without specifying their persons. — No 
middle point in the unlimited series of number being determined, it 
would be almost necessary, for the purpose of obtaining some fixed 
number, as implied by those terms, to adopt either two, the lowest de- 
gree of plurality in the first personal pronoun both in Hebrew and Ara- 
bic, or to take the highest number of Gods with which human imagi- 
nation has peopled the heavens. In the former case the verse cited 
might countenance the doctrine of the duality of the Godhead enter- 
tained by Zirdusht and his followers, representing the. God of good- 
ness, and the God of evil, to have jointly created man, composed of a 
mixed nature of good and evil propensities; in the latter it would be 
consistent with the Hindoo system of religion; but there is nothing in 
the words, that can be with any justice construed as pointing to Tri- 
nity. These are not the only difficulties attending the interpretation 
of those terms: — if they should be viewed in any other than a singular 
sense, they would involve contradiction with the very next verse: " So 
God created man in his own image;" in which the singular number is 
distinctly used: as in Deut. ch. iv. ver. 4: "The Lord our God is one 
Lord;" and also with the spirit of the whole of the Old Testament. 

To those who are tolerably versed in Hebrew and Arabic, (which is 
only a refined Hebrew,) it is a well known fact, that in the Jewish and 
Mohummudan Scriptures, as well as in common discourse, the plural 
form is often used in a singular sense, when the superiority of the sub- 
ject of discourse is intended to be kept in view. This is sufficiently ap- 
parent from the following quotations taken both from the OJd Testa- 
ment in Hebrew, and from the Qoran. Exo. ch. xxi. ver. 4, "If his 
masters (meaning his master) have given him a wife." Verse 6, "Then 
his masters (that is, his master) shall bring him unto the Judges." 
Verse 29th, " But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time 
past, and it has been testified to his owners," (that is, to his owner.) 
Isa. ch. vi. ver. 8, "To whom shall I send? and who will go for us?" 
(that is, for me.) 

So also in the Qoran, "We are (meaning I am) nearer than the jugu- 
lar vein." "Surely we (meaning I) created every thing in proportion." 
In these two texts of the Qoran, God is represented to have spoken in 
the plural number, although Mohummud cannot be supposed to have 
employed a mode of expression which he could have supposed capable 
of being considered favourable to the Trinity."— Appeal^ $fc. p. 140-rl43.. 





81 

ceived them at their hand, and fashioned it with a 
graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: 
and they said, These be thy Gods, Israel, which 
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Ex. xxxii. 
4. The same plural language is repeated again in 
verse 8th, "These be thy Gods, Israel," &c. Aa- 
ron excused himself to Moses by saying, " They said 
unto me, make us Gods which shall go before us." 
ver. 23. "And I said unto them, Whosoever hath 
any gold let them break it off. So they gave it me: 
.then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this 
calf" ver. 24. Can any rational mind pretend that 
the use of a plural noun and pronoun, in this instance, 
by the Israelites, proves that " this calf" was, in 
some sense, three calves, and at the same time only 
one calf? 

The belief in one self-existent, eternal, omnipotent, 
and omnipresent God ; was the great and fundamental 
doctrine of the Jewish religion; and the writings of 
the Old Testament are full of passages declaring that 
there is but one God, who is himself the Saviour and 
Redeemer of men. "I am the Lord," says he, "and 
there is none else — there is no God besides me." — 
"Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his 
Maker." Is. xlv. 5, 11. "I, even I, am the Lord, 
and besides me there is no Saviour." "Thus saith 
the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." 
Is; xliii. 11, 14. These sentiments are reiterated and 
confirmed in the New Testament. u Jesus answered^ 
The first of all the commandments is, hear, Israel, 
the Lord our God is one Lord." "And the scribes 
said unto him, Well, master, thou hast said the truth, 
for there is one God, and there is none other but he:" 
Mark xii. 29, 32; which. proves that the Jews believ- 
ed then, as they do now, that he is one undivided 
Deity. 

We are told by the highest authority, that " none 
is good save one; that is, God." Luke xviii. 19. The 
apostle Paul says, " God is one." Gal. iii. 20. And 
S* 



82 

the apostle Jude says, " To the only wise God our 
Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, 
both now and ever." ver. 25. 

2. There are many names given to the Divine 
Being, in the Old and New Testaments, which are 
either expressive of his attributes, or descriptive of 
the various ways in which he has manifested himself 
to the children of men, according to their several 
states and capacities. Thus he is called Jehovah, or 
self-existing; and he is called Jah, which means eter- 
nal. He is also called the King of Glory, the Lord 
of Hosts, and the Prince of Peace. To the wricked 
he appears as a consuming fire; but to the faithful he 
becomes the Lord our righteousness, the Rock of 
ages, and the Saviour and Redeemer of his people. 
Yet, notwithstanding this variety of names which 
are given to the Divine Being, in both the Old and 
New Testaments, it is said by the prophet Zechariah, 
in allusion to the gospel day, " In that day there shall 
be one Lord, and his name one." Chap. xiv. 19. — 
Which I understand to mean, that there shall be only 
one Divine power acknowledged, to whom all these- 
various names arq attributed. The name of the Lord 
is often used in Scripture, to indicate the power or 
presence of the Lord. Thus it is said, " The name 
of the Lord is a strong tower." Psalms xviii. 10. — 
"Thy name is as ointment poured forth." Cant. i. 3. 
"For that thy name is near thy works declare." Ps. 
Ixxv. 1. "Behold, I send an angel before thee to 
keep thee in the way. Beware of him, and obey his 
voice, — provoke him not, for he will not pardon 
your transgressions, for my name is in him." Ex. 
xiii. 20, 21. From these and many other passages, 
I think it is clear, that to be baptized into the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
signifies to be brought under the purifying influence 
of that one Divine poiver, whose manifestations to 
the children of men are represented by these various 
names. I see no reason to conclude that the Father,. 



83 

Son, and Holy Spirit, are all distinct persons, Be- 
cause these names are all found in one sentence. 

There are many other places in the Scriptures 
where the Divine Being is mentioned under different 
names in one sentence. For instance, " Unto us a 
child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, 
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. " Is. 
ix. 6. Here are five names mentioned, and accord- 
ing to the trinitarian arguments, they imply five 
persons in the Deity. The reduplicative style is 
very common in the sacred writings. For example, 
the apostle James says*: " Pure religion and unde- 
filed before God and the Father, is this. " i. 27. And 
the apostle Paul says: "Do all in the name of the 
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father 
by him." Colos. iii. 17. He also speaks in another 
place, of " God, and of the Father, and of Christ." 
Col. ii. 2. From these expressions some persons 
might conclude that God and the Father are two dis- 
tinct persons; but the apostolic doctrine was, "There 
is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things^ 
and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, 
and we by him." 1 Cor. viii. 6. 

3. The attempt to prove that there are three per- 
sons in the Deity, by saying that different offices are 
assigned to the Father, and the Word, and the Holy 
Spirit, will not stand the test of scrutiny: for the 
Scriptures ascribe precisely the same works to the 
Deity under each of these titles. For instance, the 
work of creation is ascribed, — first, to God: "In the 
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 
Gen. i. 1. Secondly, to the Spirit of God: "The 
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."* 
Gen. i. 2. " Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are 
created; thou renewest the face of the earth." Ps„ 
civ. 30. Thirdly f to the wisdom of God: "By 
tvisdomhs made the heavens." Ps« exxxvi. 5> "The 



84 

Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth." Prov. iii. 
19. Fourthly, to the Word of God: "All things 
were made by him." John i. 3. " By the word of 
God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing 
out of the water and in the water." 2 Pet. iii. 5. 
Fifthly, to the Son of God: " He hath in these last 
days spoken unto us by his Son, by whom also he 
made the worlds." Heb. i. 2. " God created all 
things by Jesus Christ." Eph. iii. 9. 

Here then, according to the trinitarian method of 
reasoning, are five persons concerned in the work of 
creation. But according to my view there is only one 
God, whose holy power or Divine influence is some- 
times called the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit, 
because, " God is a Spirit." It is sometimes called 
the Wisdom of God; for "in him are hidden all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Col. ii. 3. It 
is likewise called the Word of God, because it is the 
medium by which he speaks to man. And it is called 
the Son of God, and Jesus Christ, because it was 
through this one Divine power that Jesus did the 
works of God. He said, "I can of mine own self do 
nothing; as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, 
because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the 
Father which sent me." John v. 30. "The words 
that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself, but the 
Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." 
John xiv. 10. 

4. This brings us to the last point of the argument, 
which relates to the union of the Divine and human 
natures in Jesus Christ. This union I fully acknow- 
ledge; but I can see no need of calling it a hyposta- 
tical union: for there is no such language used by the 
inspired writers, and I believe that this, and other 
Latin names, (such as a trinity and triune God,) have 
been used as blinds, to conceal from the public the 
deplorable ignorance of priests and professors in rela- 
tion to divine things. They being ignorant of " that 
wisdom which is from above," (James iii. 17) have re- 



85 

sorted to "the words ivhich man's wisdo?n teacheth" 
in order to appear wise before men. 

The Scriptures teach us, that " as many as are led 
by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." — 
Rom. viii. 14. " The Spirit itself beareth witness 
with our spirits, that we are the children of God: and 
if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs 
with Christ." ver. 16, 17. They also teach us, that 
we may become "partakers of the Divine nature." 
2 Peter i. 4. 

This union which takes place between God and all 
those who are born of his Spirit, is so perfect, that the 
church (or assembly of the righteous) is likened to a 
spiritual house, of which "Jesus Christ is the chief 
corner stone." 1 Pet. ii. 5. The apostle Paul, in ad- 
dressing the Ephesians, says, " Ye are built upon the 
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ 
himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all 
the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an 
holy temple in the Lord ; in whom ye also are builded 
together, for an habitation of God through the Spirit." 
ii. 20-22. 

The church is also compared to a body, having 
many members, of which Jesus Christ is the head. 
(Eph. iv. 15, — Col. i. 8, — Rom. xii. 4,-1 Cor. xii. 
12.) It appears to me, that the apostles considered 
" the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. ii. 5,) to be the chief 
member or head of the spiritual body, which is made 
up of the faithful servants of God of all ages and na- 
tions; and therefore they speak of him as the "first- 
born among many brethren." Rom. viii. 29. This 
title does not refer to priority of birth, but to the dig- 
nity of his station; for the first-born son among the 
Jews, was the head of the family or tribe, and the 
heir of his father's authority. Isaac was called the 
"only begotten son," (Heb. xi. 17, — Gen. xxii. 16,) 
because he was Abraham's heir, although his brother 
Ishmael was born before him. 

With these views, I can fully acknowledge not only 



86 

the Divine Word or Logos, which dwelt in Jesus 
without measure, and which constituted him the 
anointed Saviour, but I can likewise acknowledge the 
sinless perfection of his human nature. It appears 
from the Scriptures, that he was miraculously born of 
a virgin, and, "though he was, in all points tempted 
like as we are, yet without sin;" (Heb. iv. 15) and he 
was "a man approved of God, by miracles, and won- 
ders, and signs, which God did by him." Acts ii. 22. 
It is, however, very evident, that the "two natures 
were distinct" in him, as they are in all the sons of 
God ; for it is not possible that the Divine nature should 
suffer death, or be affected with agony of soul. 

I can further say, with the apostle Paul, " Hence- 
forth know we'no man after the flesh; yea, though we 
have known Christ after the flesh, yet now hence- 
forth know we him no more." 2 Cor. v. 16. And 
therefore, when I speak of Christ Jesus, or the Sa- 
viour, I mean that "unction from the Holy One/ 9 
which reigned in Jesus, and "the manifestation" of 
which "is given to every man to profit withal:" 1 
Cor. xii. 7; for, " of his fulness have all we received, 
and grace for grace." John i. 16. "In him was life, 
and the life was the light'of men. That was the true 
light which lighteth every man that cometh into the 
world." ver. 4, 9. 

This divine power, or word of God, is often called 
Christ, by the writers of the New Testament. For in- 
stance, Paul says of the children of Israel under Mo- 
ses, that " they did all eat the same spiritual meat, 
and they did all drink the same spiritual drink; for 
they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, 
and that rock was Christ." 1 Cor. x. 4. 

Peter says that the prophets " prophesied of the 
grace that should come unto you, searching what, or 
what manner of time, the spirit of Christ which was 
in them did signify, when it testified beforehand of 
the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should fol- 
low." 1 Peter i. 11. There are a great many other 



87 

passages in the New Testament where Christ is spoken 
of as that one Divine Spirit, who manifests himself 
in man for our sanctification and redemption. For 
example : " Know ye not your own selves, how that 
Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." 2 Cor. 
xiii. 5. " To whom God would make known what 
is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the 
Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory." 
Col. i. 27. "It pleased God to reveal his Son in me, 
that I might preach him among the heathen." Gal. i. 
15, 16. " Ye are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if so 
be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any 
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." 
Rom. viii. 9. Here the Spirit of God and the Spirit 
of Christ, are spoken of as one and the same. 

In confirmation of this, the apostle goes on to say, 
" And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because 
of [or as to] sin; but the spirit is alive, because of 
righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised 
up Jesus Christ from the dead, dwell in you, he that 
raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken 
your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you." 
ver. 10, 11. The same apostle says, "Because ye are 
sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into 
your hearts, crying Abba, Father." Gal. iv. 6. And 
again, he says, " The Lord is that Spirit, and where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 
iii. 17. I might adduce many other passages, to show- 
that when the apostles speak of Christ, they often 
mean the anointing poiver of God's Spirit, or " the 
law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which makes 
free from the law of sin and death," that "wars in 
our members." Rom. viii. 2, and vii. 23. It is evi- 
dent, that Jesus spake of his outward body merely as 
a temple in which this Divine power was manifest- 
ed; for he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three 
days I will raise it up." " But he spake of the tem- 
ple of his body." John ii. 19-21. In this prediction 
he spoke in the name of his Father; for it is said in 



88 

the Scriptures that "he was raised up from the dead 
by the glory of the Father" Rom. vi. 4. " This 
commandment have I received of my Father." John 
x. 18. And after he was risen, he said to Mary, "Go 
to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my 
Father and your Father, and to my God and your 
God." John xx. 17. 

John. It appears that the same body which was 
crucified, rose again and ascended up to heaven, and 
now sitteth on the right hand of God; for he said, af- 
ter his resurrection, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, 
as ye see me have:" which shows, that it was a human 
body. And it is also said, "He was taken up, and a 
cloud received him out of their sight." Acts i. 9. 

James. I think the circumstance of his being re- 
ceived up into a cloud, does not prove that the same 
body of flesh and hones was introduced into the spi- 
ritual world. As God is a pure " spirit, without body, 
parts, or passions,"* it is very possible that he changed 
his Son into his own likeness, or that he gave him a 
spiritual body. When Elijah was translated, he was 
taken up by a chariot of fire and horses of fire, but I 
do not conclude from this, that there are horses in 
heaven. I consider it a striking evidence of Divine 
power displayed on this occasion, to confirm the faith 
ofElisha. 

Jesus taught the Jews that Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, were then living. Matt. xxii. 32. Yet we have 
no reason to believe that their earthly bodies ever had 
been raised from the grave. What I understand by 
the resurrection, as regards a future existence, is the 
soul being raised out of this state of mutability into a 
spiritual world, where it shall receive either happi- 
ness or misery, "according to the deeds done in the 
body." 

Father. Perhaps we had best not indulge in much 
speculation on this subject, for " secret things belong 
* Episcopal Articles. 



89 

unto the Lord our God, but the things which are re- 
vealed belong unto us and our children." 

The apostle Paul, on the subject of the resurrec- 
tion, says, " Now this I say, brethren, that flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 1 
Cor. xv. 50. And the apostle John writes with still 
more caution, for he says, " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we 
shall he; but when he cometh we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is; and every man that 
hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he 
is pure." 1 John iii. 2, 3. This ought to be the main 
object of our thoughts, to purify ourselves even as he 
is pure, in order that we may become the sons of God. 
" My little children," saith the apostle, " of whom I 
travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." 
Gal. iv. 19. " There is one body, and one spirit, even 
as you are called in one hope of your calling; one 
Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of 
all, who is above all, through all, and in you all. But 
unto every one of us is given grace according to the 
measure of the gift of Christ" Eph. iv. 4-7. "Till we 
all come, in the unity of the faith and of the know- 
ledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" ver. 
13. This stature of the fulness of Christ consists, I 
believe, in a state of perfect obedience to the law of 
Divine love, by which means our minds may become 
so transformed by the spirit of Christ, as to be in 
unity with him, even as he is in unity with the Fa- 
ther; agreeably to the prayer of the blessed Jesus, 
when he said, " Holy Father, keep through thine own 
name, those whom thou hast given me, that they may 
be one as we are. As thou Father art in me, and I in 
thee, that they may be one in us." John xvii. 11,21. 
"I will pray the Father," said he, "and he shall give 
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world 
cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither know- 
9 



90 

eth him: but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, 
and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, 
I will come to you." John xiv. 16-18. 

Here we see that the same Holy Spirit which was 
in Jesus, and thus dwelt with the disciples, was to be 
manifested in them, for their comfort; and not unto 
them only, but unto as many as should believe on 
him through their word. 

John. If we consider the divine Word, or Spirit of 
Christ, to be the medium through which God reveals 
himself to man, does not this seem to imply that there 
are two Divine powers or persons? 

Father. I will answer this question by asking an- 
other. What do men generally understand by the 
term nature, when they speak of the laws of nature 
and the powers of nature? Do they mean that there is 
another power besides that of God operating upon the 
material world? 

John. I understand by it nothing more than the 
power of God, as continually displayed in the out- 
ward creation. 

Father. And so, when I speak of Christ or the 
Divine Word, I mean "the power of God and the 
wisdom of God," (1 Cor. i. 24,) as manifested in the 
souls of men, to redeem them from all iniquity, and 
to bring them into his own glorious image of purity 
and love. This Divine power is represented under 
various figures or metaphors, in the Scriptures; but 
the most striking and beautiful is that of light. The 
apostle John says, " God is light, and in him is no 
darkness at all." And speaking of Christ he says, 
u In him was life, and the life was the light of men; 
that was the true light, which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." God is the great luminary 
or sun of his spiritual creation; and that power or in- 
fluence by which he acts upon the souls of men, is 
called his light: " For whatsoever doth make mani- 
fest is light. Wherefore he saith, awake, thou that 



% & 



91 

sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
give thee light." Eph. v. 13, 14. As the light of the 
sun is the source of all the beauty that adorns the out- 
ward creation, and as the smallest ray of light con- 
tains in itself every colour of the rainbow; so this 
Divine light which emanates from God, is the source 
of every christian virtue, and "in it are hidden all 
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 

When we see such striking evidences of Divine 
power and goodness displayed in the government of 
the outward world, — clothing the earth with flowers 
and verdure in spring, with harvests in summer, and 
with fruits in autumn, — and preserving the various 
tribes of animals through the severity of winter: when 
we feel assured that not even a sparrow falls to the 
ground without his notice; — can we suppose that he 
withdraws- his presence from the immortal part of his 
creature man? No; it is on the rational soul of man 
that he bestows his peculiar care; it is there that his 
sensible presence is felt, and to him alone are we in- 
debted for every holy aspiration after virtue, and 
every feeling of extended benevolence. And he not 
only incites us to goodness, but he reproves us for 
evil, and, as a tender father, he visits and revisits his 
erring children with " the reproofs of instruction^ 
which are the way of life." 

" Thou art the source and centre of all minds, 
Their only point of rest, eternal Word ! 
From thee departing they are lost, and rove 
At random, without honour, hope, or peace. 
From thee is all that soothes the life of man; 
His high endeavour, and his glad success, 
His strength to suffer, and his will to serve. 
But oh, thou bounteous giver of all good, 
Thou art of all thy gifts thyself the crown ! 
Give what thou canst, without thee we are poor; 
And with, thee rich,, take what thou wilt away." 

Cowper. 



92 



NOTE. 

There is one text which was not introduced nor al- 
luded to in the foregoing conversation, because its 
authenticity is now considered so .doubtful that it has 
been abandoned by some of the most learned biblical 
critics. The following remarks in relation .to it are 
extracted from the commentary of Adam Clarke, a 
learned trinitarian writer. 

1 John v. 7. " For there are three that bear record 
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; 
and these three are one." 

"There are one hundred and thirteen Greek MSS. 
extant, containing the first epistle of John, and this 
text is wanting in one hundred and twelve. It only 
exists in the Codex Montfortii, (a comparatively re- 
cent MS.,) already described." 

" All the Greek fathers omit the verse, though ma- 
ny of them quote both verse 6th and Sth, applying 
them to the Trinity, Divinity of Christ, and the Holy 
Spirit." 

"The first place the verse appears in Greek, is in 
the Greek translation of the acts of the council of 
Lateran,- held A. D. 1215." 

"The Latin fathers do not quote it, even where it 
would have greatly strengthened their arguments/and 
where, had it existed, it might have been most natu- 
rally expected. It is wanting in all -the ancient ver- 
sions, the Vulgate excepted; but the most ancient 
copies of this have it not." 

"It is wanting in the German translation of Lu- 
ther, and in all the editions of it published during his 
lifetime. It is inserted in our early English transla- 
tions, but with marks of doubtfulness." 

"In short, it stands on rto authority, sufficient to 
authenticate any part of a revelation professing to 
have come from God." 

[See Griesbach's Greek Testament.] 



93 



CONVERSATION V. 



ON SALVATION BY CHRIST. 

James. In our last conversation the attributes of 
the Divine Being and the Divinity of Christ, were 
discussed; and I now feel desirous of being better in- 
formed respecting the Christian doctrine of salvation. 

Father. This is the most important subject that 
can possibly engage our attention: and we ought each 
one of us to take it into serious consideration, and en- 
deavour to know by experience what it is to be saved 
from sin. It is an individual work; for " no man can 
save his brother, nor give to God a ransom for his 
soul;" but we must all "work out our own salvation 
with fear and trembling." Phil. ii. 12. 

John. I should think this last quotation is not to 
be taken so literally as to imply that we can work out 
our own salvation without Divine assistance. 

Father. Certainly not. It only means that we 
should accept the offers of Divine grace, and heartily 
co-operate therewith: for the apostle says in the next 
verse, " It is God which worketh in you, both to 
will and to do, of his good pleasure." After all that 
we can do, our salvation must be attributed to God: 
for although it cannot be done without us, it is equal- 
ly certain that it cannot be done of ourselves. " By 
grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of 
yourselves; it is the gift of God." Eph. ii. 8. 

The first point to be considered in this inquiry is, 
What is salvation? I think all must acknowledge that 
it is a deliverance from the guilt and dominion of 
sin; and consequently an exemption from the misery 
that is entailed upon sin, both here and. hereafter. 

a* 



94 

This view is confirmed by the whole tenour of the 
sacred writings; and it appears that the special object 
of Christ's mission was " to save his people from 
their sins" Mat. i. 21. A man cannot be truly said 
to be saved from his sins, while he is living in the 
daily practice of sinning. For "he that doeth righ- 
teousness is righteous;" but "he that committeth sin 
is of the devil." 1 John iii. 7, 8. The next inquiry is, 
What is sin? The apostle John answers, " Sin is the 
transgression of the law." 1 John iii. 4. Well, what 
law is it that we are now living under? It is not the 
law of Moses; but the law of the new covenant, 
which is written in the heart. For, "This is the 
covenant that I will make* with the house of Israel 
after those days, saith the Lord; 1 will put my laws 
into their mind, and write them in their hearts; 
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me 
a people; and they shall not teach every man his 
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know 
the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the 
greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighte- 
ousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I re- 
member no more." Heb. viii. 10, Jer. xxxi. 31. It 
appears then, that sin is the transgression of this holy 
law: " for if our heart condemn us, God is greater 
than our heart, and knoweth all things;" but "if our 
heart condemn us not, then have we confidence to- 
wards God." 1 John iii. 20, 21. Now if we will revert 
to our own experience, we shall find that every trans- 
gression of this law written in the heart, is followed 
by condemnation and disquietude: for the Divine 
Author of our being has so constituted the human 
mind, that we never can be happy while in a state of 
disobedience to his holy law; therefore he says, 
"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy 
backslidings shall reprove thee." Jer. ii. 19. " Say 
ye to the righteous, it shall be well with him; for 
they shall eat the fruit of their doings: but wo unto 
the wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the reward 



' 95 

of his hands shall be given him." Is. iii. 10. "The 
work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of 
righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever." Is. 
xxxii. 17. This "peace of God, which passeth un- 
derstanding;" this holy joy and serenity of mind, 
which springs from " the love of God shed abroad in 
the heart," is the only thing that can fill and satisfy 
the cravings of an immortal soul,- which pants for the 
joys of eternal life. How important then is the in- 
quiry, What is it that separates us from the Divine 
harmony, and cuts us off from the joys of paradise? 
" Behold," says the prophet, " your iniquities have 
separated between you and your God, and your sins 
have hid his face from you.". Is. liv. 1. If sin sepa- 
rates the soul from God, it is clear that w r e cannot be 
united to him while we continue to be sinful: for 
"what communion is there between light and dark- 
ness? — what concord between Christ and belial?" But 
"thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!" He not 
only sent his beloved Son into the world to " save his 
people from their sins," and to "destroy the works 
of the devil," (1 John iii. 8,) but he still reveals him- 
self to man as a God "nigh at hand, a very present 
help in time of trouble;" and it is " through his mer- 
cy that he saves us, by the washing of regeneration 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." All he requires 
of man is, to repent of his sins by turning away 
from them, and to become obedient to "the law of 
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, which makes free 
from the law of sin and death." This "law of sin 
and death," is the law which "wars in our members," 
(Rom. vii. 23, viii. 2,) and consists of "the lusts of the 
flesh; the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life, which 
are not of the Father, but of the world." It is need- 
ful that the power of God should be revealed in man, 
to overcome these spiritual enemies; and therefore 
his holy Word, or Spirit of truth, is sent to " con- 
vince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judg- 
ment." This is that grace of God which bringeth 



96 

salvation, and hath appeared unto all men, teaching: 
us, that "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this- 
present world. " He who lives in obedience to this 
Spirit of truth, or grace of God, will find a continual 
growth and increase of strength, by which he will be 
enabled to resist temptation and to work righteous- 
ness; until,, at length, it will become his study and 
delight to do the Father's will, and glorify his name 
on earthi This is the Emmanuel state, in which God 
becomes the life of the soul : for he is the Alpha and 
the Omega, the beginning and the end of our salvation. 
"I am the Lord," he says, " and besides me there is 
no Saviour." Is. xliii. 3, 11. "lam a just God and 
a Saviour: there is none besides me." Is. xlv. 15, 21, 
xlix. 26, lx. 16, Hos. xiii. 4. Therefore, unto him, 
"the only wise God our Saviour, be g'lory and ma- 
jesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever." 
Jude, 25. 

John. These views appear to be consistent with the 
Scriptures, as far as they .go; but it seems to me that 
a very important doctrine of Christianity still remains 
to be considered. I mean the doctrine of atonement. 

Father. I have been speaking of what I consider 
the doctrine of atonement or reconciliation. For it is 
admitted even by trinitarian writers, that "the doc- 
trine of atonement, as far as relates to sin, is nothing 
more than the doctrine of reconciliation;" and in- 
deed, in a sense agreeable to this, that of bringing in- 
to a state of concord and reconciliation, the w r ord 
atonement itself had been originally used by our old 
English writers, with whom, according to Junius, 
Skinner, and Johnson, it was written at- one-merit. 
Signifying to be at-one, or to come to an agreement. 
[See Magee on Atonement, pp. 1S4, 186.] 

Now, it appears to me that God is altogether un- 
changeable himself, and perfectly pure and holy; and 
therefore,, the sinner cannot be in a state of concord 



97 

and reconciliation with him, until his sinful nature is 
removed by "the washing of regeneration and renew- 
ing of the Holy Ghost." Thus "putting off the old 
man with his deeds, and putting on the new man, 
which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of 
him that created him." Col. iii.. 9, 10. 

John. What I mean by the doctrine of atonement, 
is a belief in the vicarious sufferings of Jesus Christ, 
when he suffered death without the gates of Jerusa- 
lem, as a substitute for the whole human race; in 
order to satisfy the offended justice of God, and to 
render him propitious to guilty man. Adam, and all 
his posterity, having broken the law of God, it would 
have been necessary for the whole human race to have 
suffered eternal death, in order to satisfy the- infinite 
justice of God; but the Son of God offered himself as 
a substitute- for man, and agreed to pay the price of 
our redemption, by taking on him a human body, and 
suffering the pains of death. 

Father. As I said on a former occasion, those who 
profess to derive their doctrines entirely from the 
Scriptures, ought to be very careful to adhere strictly 
to the text. Now we find no such language in the 
Scriptures, as the vicarious sufferings of Jesus Christ; 
nor do they say that he died as & substitute for guilty 
man; nor is there any language in them, from which 
such a conclusion can be fairly drawn. To punish the 
innocent, in order that the guilty may go free, is en- 
tirely inconsistent with the justice and mercy of the 
divine character. " He that justifieth the wicked, and 
' he that condemneth the just, even they both are abo- 
mination to the Lord." .Prov. xvii." 15. It is said in 
the Scriptures, that Christ died for all men, but there 
is not the slightest intimation that his sufferings were 
intended to appease the wrath, or satisfy the justice 
of God. The object of his mission was to bear wit- 
ness to the truth. "To this end was I born," said he, 
" and for this cause came I into the world, that I 



98 

should bear witness unto the truth." John xviii. 37. 
But he could not bear witness to the truth, among 
that perverse and wicked generation, without expos- 
ing himself to sufferings and death; and he therefore 
voluntarily offered himself to die, for the salvation of 
mankind. His death did not change the feelings nor 
the purposes of God* towards mankind; for God is al- 
together unchangeable. "In him is neither variable- 
ness nor shadow of turning:" and he is always kind, 
"even to the unthankful and to the evil." 

The mission of Jesus Christ was itself the effect 
of' God's unchanging love to man; for all the good 
that he did, was done by Jhe power of God operating 
through him. "I can of myself do nothing," said 
he, " my Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the 
works." " God was in Christ, reconciling the world 
unto himself*, not imputing their trespasses unto them, 
and hath committed unto us the w T ord of reconcilia- 
tion. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ," 
says the apostle, '/as though God did beseech you by 
us, we pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to 
God." 2 Cor. v. 19, 20. There is not a word said in 
the Scriptures, about God being reconciled to man, by 
the death of his Son; but it is man that must be recon- 
ciled to God; for he has always loved mankind : but 
man being at enmity with him, it is in man that the 
change must be wrought, and the reconciliation ef- 
fected. One means which the Divine Being has made 
use of, in all ages of the world, to change the hearts 
of wicked men, has been the patience, the resigna- 
tion, and the joy with which his faithful servants 
have suffered for his cause, when persecuted by the 
wicked. It was in this way that Jesus Christ and 
his apostles bore their testimony to the truth, and ex- 
emplified before men the goodness, the- purity, and 
the love of that Divine Power, whose kingdom was 
established within them. It was in this way, too, that 
the primitive Christians, though generally poor, illi- 
terate, and despised among men, were made the in- 



99 

struments of convincing mankind and enlarging the 
Redeemer's kingdom. And if the kingdoms of this 
world shall ever " become the kingdoms of God and 
of his Christ," (as I believe they will,) it must be ef- 
fected by the holy living, the meek example, and the 
patient sufferings of the faithful. I can conceive of 
no other means so well calculated to touch the feel- 
ings and to convince the judgment, as the example of 
one who is actuated by the love of God in all things, 
and who is willing to " lay down his life for the 
brethren," and for the testimony of truth. We find 
that the holy living, the powerful preaching, and the 
numerous miracles of Jesus, made but few converts 
until he " laid down his life for the sheep," and seal- 
ed his testimony with his blood. It was then that 
many began to perceive that /'his kingdom was not 
of this world, else would his servants fight." They 
were convinced that he had been actuated by Divine 
love in all that he did, and when the apostles, who 
were filled with the Holy Spirit, began to preach to 
the multitude, and showed them that " God had made 
that same Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord 
and Christ," then "they were pricked in their hearts, 
and said unto Peter, and unto the rest of the apostles, 
Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Acts ii. 36, 37. 
And "the same day there were added unto them about 
three thousand souls." v. 14. Thus we see how the 
sufferings of the Messiah operated upon the people of 
that day, to reconcile them to God; but it is the life 
and power of God that dwelt in Christ, which saves 
from sin: "for if when we were enemies," says the 
apostle Paul, " we were reconciled to God by the 
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we 
shall be saved by his life." Rom. v. 9. For "in him 
was life, and the life was the light of men." John i. 
4. It is this life of God, or " Spirit of truth" re- 
vealed in the soul, which purifies and saves from sin. 
This life is sometimes spoken of as the blood; for ac- 
cording to the Jewish law " the blood is the life." 



100 

(Levit. xvii. 11, 14,— Geh. ix. 4, — Deuter. xii. 23.) 
And when Jesus told the people, u Except ye eat the 
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have 
no life in you;" he did not allude to the flesh and 
blood of his outward body, but to the life and power 
of God which dwelt in him, and spake through him. 
In confirmation of this view, he said himself to his 
disciples, by way of explanation, " It is the Spirit 
which quicken.eth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the 
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they 
are life." John vi. 53, 63. 

When the apostle John saw, in the Revelations, "a 
great multitude, which no man could number, of all 
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, who 
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed 
in white robes, and with palms in their hands," he 
was told, that these were they who had u come out of 
great tribulation," who had. "washed their robes, and 
made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. 
vii. 14. Now, we cannot suppose that these robes 
were made of earthly materials, nor will any one 
contend that the blood with which they were wash- 
ed and made white, w T as the outward blood, shed upon 
mount Calvary. They were spiritual garments, and 
the blood too was spiritual; it was the life or spirit 
of God which dwelt in Jesus; and it is by this only 
that our hearts can be " sprinkled from an evil con- 
science;" for " if the blood of bulls and of goats, and 
the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sancti- 
fieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more 
shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal 
Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge 
your consciences from dead works, to serve the liv- 
ing God." Heb. ix. 13, 14. It appears very evident 
to me, that nothing of an outward character can 
purge the conscience, or purify the mind; for these 
are spiritual, and require spiritual agents to act upon 
them. 

John. It appears to me, that in this last quotation, 



101 

the apostle alludes to the Jewish sacrifices of bulls 
and of goats, as being the types of that great sacrifice 
which Christ was to make of himself once for all. — 
The sacrifice of the scape-goat, once in the year, on 
the day of solemn expiation for the sins of the whole 
people, is generally considered a striking type of the 
sacrifice of Christ, which it was intended to prefigure, 
Two goats were brought to the door of the taberna- 
cle for a sin-offering, and the high priest cast lots upon 
them, which should be sacrificed to the Lord and 
which should be set at liberty. One of them was 
then put to death for a sin-offering for all the people, 
his blood was sprinkled upon the altar, and his body 
was burnt without the camp. The other goat was the 
scape-goat, on which the high priest laid his hands, 
confessing his sins and the sins of all the people; he 
then sent him into the wilderness, to a place not in- 
habited, to be there set at liberty, and to bear the ini- 
quities of the people. The first of these goats is sup- 
posed to have been intended to prefigure the death of 
Christ, and the second, which was saved alive, to typi- 
fy his resurrection. 

Father. We are not informed in any part of the 
Scriptures, that these goats were intended as types of 
Jesus Christ, and I can see no reason for such a con- 
clusion. There are, however, several reasons which 
have convinced me that ihey had no such meaning. 
In the first place, the goat was never made use of as 
an emblem of purity or holiness; but, on the contrary, 
always as an emblem of sin; for our Saviour himself, 
spoke of it in this way, when he said he would place 
the sheep on his right hand, and the goats, (that is the 
wicked,) on his left. 2. The Messiah is spoken of 
under the figure of a lamb, and it is not possible that 
he could be typified by two natures so entirely oppo- 
site as the lamb and the goat. 3. It appears to me 
that these sacrifices were figures of spiritual things, 
and that the holy men of old understood them in that 

10 



102 

light; for we find that the more enlightened they be- 
came, the less reliance they placed upon these out- 
ward ceremonies. 

The prophet Samuel said to Saul, "Hath the Lord 
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in 
obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is 
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of 
rams." 1 Sam. xv. 22. The prophet Isaiah told the 
people that the Lord had no pleasure in their sacri- 
fices, because their " hands were full of blood," and 
he exhorts them, in the name of the Most High, to 
put away the evil of their doings, — " Cease to do evil, 
learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, 
and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though 
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool." But the language of Jeremiah is still more 
decided against placing any dependance upon outward 
sacrifices. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God 
of Israel, put your burnt offerings unto your sacri- 
fices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, 
nor commanded them in the day that I brought them 
out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings 
or sacrifices: but this thing commanded I them, say- 
ing, Obey my voice, and I will be your God and ye 
shall be my people; and walk in all the ways that I 
have commanded you, that it may be well with you." 
vii. 21. 

King David, when he had committed a great sin, 
exclaimed in the depth of his contrition, " Create in 
me a clean heart, God, and renew a right spirit 
within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, 
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto 
me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy 
free spirit." "Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would 
I give it; thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a 



103 

contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise." Ps. 
li. 10, 16. 

It appears that whenever an animal was sacrificed, 
according to the Mosaic law, the blood was sprinkled 
upon the altar, "for the life of the flesh is in the 
blood," and "I have given it to you upon the altar, 
to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood 
that maketh an atonement for the soul. Therefore, I 
said unto the children of Israel; no soul of you shall 
eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth 
among you eat blood." Lev. xvii. 11. Now, "It is 
not possible," says the apostle Paul, "that the blood 
of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Heb. 
x. 4. Therefore, the hearts of the people were not 
purified by those offerings, unless they came to expe- 
rience in themselves, that "sacrifice of God, a bro- 
ken and a contrite spirit," which these outward offer- 
ings were intended to represent. For as the blood of 
beasts, which is the life thereof, was to be sacrificed 
to God; so the carnal nature in man, or the life of 
the flesh, must be sacrificed by being broken and con- 
trited before the Lord, through the power of his spi- 
rit. " They that are Christ's," says the apostle Paul, 
" have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts." 
Gal. v. 24. "Our old man is crucified with him, 
that the body of sin might be destroyed,' that hence- 
forth we should not serve sin." Rom. vi. 6. This 
" old man," or carnal nature in man, has always been 
produced in every individual when he has placed his 
affections upon earthly things, and become subject to 
the "lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the 
pride of life, which are not of the Father, but of the 
world." If, then, we would be redeemed from these 
things, we must be willing to submit to the death of 
the cross; that is, to have all our animal appetites, and 
all our selfish desires, subjected to the power of God, 
which is revealed within. For the cross of Christ is 
the power of God; and it is by this power that we 
must be " crucified to the world, and the world unto 



104 

us." This "death unto sin," takes place in all wht> 
come to know Christ " the resurrection and the life." 
"I protest by your rejoicing," saj T s the apostle, 
" which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. " 
1 Cor. xv. 21. "I am crucified with Christ, yet ne- 
vertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
Gal. ii. 20. " Know ye not, that as many as are bap- 
tized into Christ, are baptized into his death." Rom. 
vi. 3. This death is not the death of the outward 
body, for he says of Christ, " In that he died, he died 
unto sin once, and in that he liveth, he liveth unto 
God." Rom. vi. 10. How did he die unto sin ? Was 
it not by suppressing or subduing the first motions or 
propensities to sin, as they rose in his heart ? "For 
we have not an high priest that cannot be touched with 
the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points 
tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. iv. 
15. And how are we tempted ? The apostle James 
tells us, " Let no man say when he is tempted, I am 
tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with 
evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is 
tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts, (or 
desires,) and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived 
it bringeth forth sin; and sin when finished, bringeth 
forth death." These desires and propensities of our 
nature do not become sinful until they are perverted 
from their original purpose, and in Jesus Christ they 
never did become so, for he kept them all in subjec- 
tion to the will of God. They are all good when 
kept under the Divine government; for they are then 
calculated to subserve those purposes for which they 
were created. Like the animals in paradise, they are 
all at peace with man, and in obedience to him. And 
the reign of Christ is intended to bring us back to 
that state in which "the wolf shall dwell with the 
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, 
and the calf, and the young lion, and the fading to- 
gether, and a little child shall lead them." Is. xi. 6. 
While man remained in paradise, in a state of inno- 



105 

cence, he offered no animals in sacrifice to God; for 
these were only added or introduced hecause of trans- 
gression, and when Jesus Christ appeared to promul- 
gate and exemplify the new covenant dispensation, 
he took away the hand-writing of ordinances, and 
showed that the whole intention of the old law was 
fulfilled in loving God supremely, and our neighbour 
as ourselves: for "on these two commandments 
hang all the law and the prophets." Matt. xxii. 40. 

The old covenant, being an outward law, the ves- 
sels used in the service of the temple, and the priests 
with their garments, were purified by sprinkling with 
outward blood, "which is the life of the flesh;" but 
the new covenant, being an inward law, " placed in 
the mind, and written in the heart," (Heb. viii. 9,) it 
was necessary that the soul itself should be purified 
with better offerings than these, — even with "the 
blood of the Lamb," which is the life or spirit of 
Christ revealed within us. 

James. As the mind of man is spiritual, it appears 
very plain to me, that it cannot be washed or purified 
by any thing of an external nature. If " nothing that 
goeth into the mouth dejileth the man," it is equally 
plain that nothing that is taken into the mouth, or 
applied to the body, can purify the man from sin. 
And it is equally impossible that any outward sacri- 
fice could produce a change in the Divine mind; for 
we have abundant evidence, that he is "the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever," and that he is al- 
ways waiting to be gracious to the repenting sin- 
ner. His dealings with man are beautifully exempli- 
fied in the parable of the prodigal son, who had 
wandered far from his father's house, and spent his 
substance in riotous living. When he came to him- 
self, and determined to go back to his father, con- 
fessing his sins, and offered to become as one of the 
hired servants, his father did not stand off and order 
him to be punished, neither did he lay his punish- 

10* 



106 

ment upon the other son who had been faithful; but 
his compassion was awakened by his penitence and 
the sufferings he had already brought upon himself, 
and " while he was yet a great way off, he ran and 
fell on his neck and kissed him." Matt. xv. 20. 

Father. The character of the parent, as repre- 
sented in this parable, answers exactly to my view of 
the Divine character, and it corresponds entirely with 
the character of Jesus Christ, who was filled with the 
Divine perfections. But the doctrine that God can- 
not, or will not forgive sins without a compensation, 
and that man not being able to make this compensa- 
tion, it was made by Jesus Christ, who was appoint- 
ed, or given up to be killed for this purpose, is so 
inconsistent with the Divine character, that I cannot 
reconcile it to my feelings; — it appears to me to de- 
prive the Deity of that infinite love, which is his 
most endearing attribute, and if a human parent were 
to act upon the same principles towards his children, 
we could not justify his conduct. 

John. The advocates of this doctrine, say it was 
necessary that the infinite justice of God should be 
satisfied for the sin of Adam, and for our sins, and 
they allege, that man being finite, could not make an 
infinite satisfaction. 

Father. But I cannot see how man who is finite, 
could commit an infinite offence, and if nothing less 
than infinite satisfaction would answer, then God must 
die to satisfy his oivn justice; for he is the only 
infinite Being. But this conclusion is too absurd to 
be for a moment admitted. 

John. It was only the human nature, which was 
united to God, that died. It is impossible for the 
Deity to die. 

Father. If, then, it was only human nature that 
died, what becomes of the infinite satisfaction? It 
is clear to my mind, that when the sinful nature 



107 

in man is slain, by the power or word of God 
being raised into dominion in us, then is the Divine 
justice satisfied; for there is nothing vindictive in the 
character of the Deity. He does not afflict his crea- 
tures for any other purpose than their own reforma- 
tion, and when that reformation is effected, he is al- 
ways ready to pardon his repenting children. Even 
among men, the reformation of criminals is now con- 
sidered by the humane, to be the main object of all 
the punishments inflicted upon them; and if we could 
be certain, in any case, that a thorough change of heart 
had been effected, it would be our duty to receive 
back the offender into society. But God can see the 
heart ; and he not only sees it, but his spirit still 
strives with man, in order to reclaim him from the 
evil of his ways, and we have the assurance, that he 
takes no pleasure in the death of the sinner, but de- 
sires that he may return, repent, and live. " If the 
wicked will turn from all the sins that he hath com- 
mitted, and keep all my statutes, and do that which 
is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not 
die; all his transgressions that he hath committed, 
they shall not be mentioned unto him." Ezek. xviii. 
21. " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to 
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrigh- 
teousness." 1 John i. 9. 

This is a very different view of Divine justice from 
that which too generally prevails in Christendom. 
The doctrines of imputative sin, and imputative righ- 
teousness, appear to me to be derogatory to the Di- 
vine character, and I think they must have an injuri- 
ous effect upon the human mind, because they have a 
tendency to blind or obliterate all the distinctions of 
right and wrong. In the first place, this scheme, as it 
is called, charges upon the whole human race, even 
upon little children, the guilt of Adam's transgres- 
sion. In the second place, it transfers all this guilt, 
by imputation, to Jesus Christ, the pure and spotless 
Son of God; and what is still more absurd, it imputes 







10S 

the righteousness of Christ to all mankind who can 
believe that he died as their substitute. Now, I be- 
lieve that God regards every human soul without 
respect of persons. He sees the wicked as they are, 
and likewise the righteous, and his language still is, 
"The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon 
him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon 
him." Ezek. xviii. 20. The only true ground of ac- 
ceptance, is the new-birth; for when Christ's king- 
dom is established within us, then his righteousness 
becomes ours: not by imputation, but by our be- 
coming really "partakers of the Divine nature." 

John. There are several passages in the Scriptures 
which appear to militate against these views, and to 
confirm those which I advanced, and I cannot see 
how they can be explained in any other way. I think 
Christ is often spoken of as a sacrifice offered to God; 
it is said, "he was once offered to bear the sins of 
many." "He hath made him to be sin for us, who 
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous- 
ness of God in him." "Christ also hath once suf- 
fered, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us 
to God." The prophet Isaiah says, "Surely he hath 
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet did we 
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was 
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are heal- 
ed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray, we have 
turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath 
laid on him the iniquities of us all." This language 
must allude to Christ, for the apostle Peter quotes it 
and applies it to him: "Who his own self, bore our 
sins in his own body on the tree." 1 Peter ii. 24. 

Father. It is true that the death of the Messiah 
is often spoken of as a sacrifice offered to God; but 
the same term is applied by the apostle Paul to his 
own expected martyrdom: for he says, "I am ready 



109 

to be offered up." 2 Tim. iv. 16. And again he says, 
" If I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of 
your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all." Phil. ii. 
17. The same kind of figurative language is still 
used, but no one ever thinks of taking it literally. For 
instance, it may be said thai many of the reformers 
sacrificed their lives in the cause of truth; and that 
religious liberty has been purchased with the blood of 
the martyrs. We all know how to understand this 
language, and w T hy may we not conclude that the 
Jews used it in the same sense. It is very obvious 
that Paul used it in this sense, when he spoke of him- 
self being offered up as a sacrifice. 

The other passages which speak of the Messiah 
bearing the sins of many, being made sin for us, suf- 
fering for the unjust, and having laid on him the ini- 
quity of all, w T ill admit of a very different interpreta- 
tion from that which has been given to them by the 
advocates of a vicarious atonement, and one that is 
far more consistent with the Divine character. They 
do not say that the sins of others w r ere imputed to 
him, nor that he suffered, as a substitute, the punish- 
ment that was due to others. I take it that he bore 
the sufferings which the iniquity of the Jews inflicted 
upon him, and these sufferings were both mental and 
corporeal. " He became a man of sorrows, and ac- 
quainted with grief." He was baptized into a state of 
deep sympathy and suffering for a fallen world. I 
have no doubt that the agony he endured in the gar- 
den, was owing to the deep sense he then had of the 
wickedness of man; for he said. "My soul is exceed- 
ing sorrowful, even unto death." These spiritual suf- 
ferings appear to have been experienced in some de- 
gree by the apostles, when they afterwards became 
" baptized into Christ," and were " buried with him 
by baptism into death." Rom. vi. 3,4. For Paul says 
to the Colossians, "I now rejoice in my sufferings 
for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflic- 
tions of Christ, in my flesh, for his body's sake, which 



110 

is the church." Col. i. 24. The true ministers of the 
gospel must, at times, be baptized into the states of 
the people, in order that they may minister to their 
wants; for the whole church is represented as one 
body, and "whether one member suffer all the mem- 
bers suffer with it, or one member be honoured all 
the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body 
of Christ," says the apostle, "and members in parti- 
cular." 1 Cor. xii. 26. They who are willing thus to 
suffer and to labour in the cause of truth, offer up to 
God an acceptable sacrifice, whether it be in living to 
his glory, or in dying for his cause. 

The prophecy of Isaiah (chap, liii.) which has been 
quoted, appears to have been understood in a figura- 
tive sense by the evangelist Matthew, and he has 
thrown much light upon the meaning of it. He says, 
"When the even was come they brought unto him 
many that were possessed with devils, and he cast 
out the spirits with his word, and healed all that 
were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
by Esaias, the prophet, saying, Himself took our 
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Matt. viii. 
16, 17. 

Now let us inquire how he took their infirmities, 
and bare their sicknesses? Assuredly not by becoming 
himself infirm and sick, nor by having his health im- 
puted to them: but he "cast them out by his wGrd," 
which was the "power of God and the wisdom of 
God." And in like manner the same Divine word, or 
power of God, stills bears our iniquities ; not by im- 
putation, but by healing our spiritual diseases, and 
casting out every evil spirit from our minds, if w T e 
have faith in him and obey his law. 

With these views, I can readily subscribe to all that 
is said of Christ in the New Testament: for it ap- 
pears that not only his spotless life, and powerful 
preaching, but still more the sublime example of his 
sufferings, were all calculated to operate upon the best 



Ill 

feelings of mankind, and to bring them to the know- 
ledge of God. 

The doctrine that Jesus Christ suffered as a substU 
tule for sinners, and paid the penalty of death that 
was denounced against Adam for transgression, is 
equally contrary to reason, and inconsistent with the 
Scriptures. In the first place, it must be borne in 
mind that the death which was denounced against 
Adam for transgression, was not the death of the na- 
tural body, or else it would have taken place agree- 
ably to the prediction of the Most High — "In the 
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." 

I have shown, in a former conversation, that this 
death did take place at the time predicted, and that 
it was a death in the soul; for "to be carnally mind* 
ed is death." It was a being "dead in trespasses 
and sins/' — and it is evident that Jesus never did die 
this death, for he never sinned. 

That he should suffer an outward death, in order to 
take away the effects of an inward one, is contrary 
both to reason and to Scripture: "Shall I give my 
first-born for my transgressions? — the fruit of my body 
for the sin of my soul ? " Micah vi. 7. Yet the authors 
of this doctrine would take the fruit of Adam's body, 
(for the Messiah " was made of the seed of David 
[and consequently of Adam] according to the flesh," 
Rom. i. 3,) and they would offer it up for the sin of 
Adam's soul ! But let us suppose for a moment, that it 
was the death of the natural body that was denounced 
against Adam for transgression; did Christ's suffering 
in his stead prevent him from dying? Certainly not: 
for "all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred 
and thirty years, and he died." And all his posterity 
continue to die, notwithstanding the debt being paid 
us, according to this strange doctrine of man's in- 
vention. 

James. I think that Jesus Christ is spoken of in 
the Scriptures as the "one mediator between God 
and man," and as "the mediator of the new cove* 



112 

nant. " What are we to understand by these expres- 
sions? 

Father. This question may be answered in the 
language of George Fox, who says that "None know 
Him as a mediator and a lawgiver, nor an offering, 
nor his blood that cleanseth them, but as they know 
him working in them. " Vol. 3, p. 119, 120. As 
God is a spirit, and the soul of man is spiritual, it 
appears evident that the mediator (or medium of in- 
tercourse) between God and man must be spiritual. 

The eternal word, or spirit of Christ revealed in 
the soul, is our advocate and our intercessor. For 
"the spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know 
not what we should pray for as we ought, but the 
spirit itself maketh intercession for us, with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth 
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, 
because he maketh intercession for the saints accord- 
ing to the will of God." Rom. viii. 6. "As the word 
manifested in the flesh, or become man, is the one 
mediator or restorer of union between God and man; 
so, to seeing eyes it must be evident, that nothing 
but this one mediatorial nature of Christ, essentially 
brought to life in our souls, can be our salvation 
through Christ Jesus. For that which saved and ex- 
alted that hwnanily in which Christ dwelt, must 
be the salvation of every human creature in the 
world." (See Law's Address to the Clergy, p. 51.) 
"It is the spirit, the body, the blood of Christ within 
us, that is our whole peace with God, our whole 
adoption, our whole redemption, our whole justifica- 
tion, our whole glorification; and this is the one thing 
said and meant by that new birth, of which Christ 
saith, except a man be born again from above he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God. Now the true 
ground why all that is said of Christ in such a variety 
of expressions, hath only one meaning, and pointeth 
only to one and the same thing, is this: it is because 
the whole state and nature of fallen man wants only 



113 

one thing, and that one thing is a real birth of the 
Divine nature, made living again in him as at the 
first; and then all is done that can be done, by all the 
mysteries of the birth and whole process of Christ 
for our salvation/' 

"All the law, the prophets, and the gospel are ful- 
filled, when there is in Christ a new creature, having 
life in and from him as really as the branch hath its 
life in and from the vine." (Ibid. p. 47.) 

This union of the soul with God, by obedience to 
the manifestations of his spirit within us, is the whole 
sum and substance of the Christian religion. It was 
this which the blessed Messiah came to preach and 
exemplify; for the new covenant of which he was 
the minister, is not like the old law written upon 
tables of stone, but it is a spiritual law "placed in 
the mind and written in the heart:" therefore he said, 
when he began to preach, "The spirit of the Lord is 
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the 
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken 
hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and 
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty ihem 
that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the 
Lord." Luke iv. IS. 

How plain and practical was his preaching! "The 
kingdom of God," said he, "cometh not with obser- 
vation, for behold it is within you." "Except a man 
be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." 
The kingdom which he preached is a spiritual king- 
dom; it is the dominion of God established in the 
soul, bringing forth "righteousness, peace, and joy in 
the Holy Spirit." This practical and experimental 
part of religion is the only one in which the pious 
and faithful in all ages have agreed;— it is the only 
part that is essential to salvation, and the best evi- 
dence we can give of its possession is, by showing 
forth the fruits of righteousness in our life and con- 
versation; for the tree will be known by its fruit. 

11 



APPENDIX. 



The following brief extracts from the writings of 
some of the primitive members of the Society of 
Friends, will show the views entertained by those 
faithful advocates of practical Christianity, in relation 
to the Divine Being, and the true doctrine of salva- 
tion by Christ; and will, at the same time, serve to 
confirm those inculcated in the preceding Conversa- 
tions. 



George Fox, in his " Great Mystery," page 397, 
says, in reply to Christopher Wade, who had asserted 
that " the Holy Ghost is a person, and that there was 
a trinity of three persons before Christ was born," 
"Thou knowest not him that is in the Father, and 
the Father in him, glorified with the Father before 
the world began. And the Scriptures do not tell 
people of a trinity, nor three persons; but the common- 
prayer-mass-book speaks of three persons, brought in 
by thy father the pope; and the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit was always one." 

Again, in pages 463-4. "He said, 'that Christ, and 
the Father, and the Holy Ghost, are not one; but 
they are three, therefore distinct/ 

"Answer. This is the denying Christ's doctrine, 
who said, 'I and my Father are one;' and the Holy 
Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, and he 
was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and they are all 
one, and not distinct, but one in unity; that which 
comes out from him, leads the saints into all truth, 
(that was ever given forth from the spirit of truth) 



115 

and so up unto God the Father of truth, and so goes 
back again from whence it came" 

William Penn, in his publication "The Sandy 
Foundation Shaken," says, in his introductory address 
to the reader: "What remains, is to inform the read- 
er, that with great brevity I have discussed, and en- 
deavoured a total enervation of those cardinal points, 
and chief doctrines so firmly believed, and continual- 
ly imposed for the articles of Christian faith: 1. The 
trinity of separate persons, in the unity of essence. 
2. God's incapacity to forgive, without the fullest 
satisfaction paid him by another. 3. A justification 
of impure persons, from an imputative righteousness. 
Which principles, let me tell thee, reader, are not 
more repugnant to Scripture, reason, and souls'-secu- 
rity, than most destructive to God's honour, in his 
unity, mercy, and purity." — Works, vol. 1, p. 251. 

"'And he said, Lord God, there is no God like unto 
thee; to whom then will ye liken me? or shall I be 
equal, saith the Holy One?' 'I am the Lord, and 
there is none else, there is no God besides me. 5 
' Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One 
of Israel.' 'I will also praise thee, my God; unto 
thee will I sing, Holy One of Israel.' ' Jehovah 
shall be one, and his name one.' Which, with a cloud 
of other testimonies that might be urged, evidently 
demonstrate, that in the days of the first covenant, 
and prophets, but one was the Holy God, and God 
but that Holy One. ' And Jesus said unto him, why 
callest thou me good ? there is none good but one, and 
that is God.' 'And this is life eternal, that they 
might know Thee (Father) the only true God.' 'See- 
ing it is one God that shall justify.' ' There be gods 
many, but unto us there is but one God, the Father, 
of whom are all things.' 'One God and Father who 
is above all things.' ' For there is one God.' ' To 
the only wise God be glory now and for ever.' From 
all which I shall lay down this one assertion, that the 
testimonies of Scripture, both under the law, and 



116 

since the gospel dispensation, declare one to be God, 
and God to be one, on which I shall raise this argu- 
ment. If God, as the Scriptures testify, halh never 
been declared or believed, but as the Holy One, then 
will it follow, that God is not a holy three, nor doth 
subsist in three distinct and separate holy ones; but 
the before-cited Scriptures undeniably prove that one 
is God, and God only is that Holy One; therefore he 
cannot be divided into, or subsist in a holy three, or 
three distinct and separate holy ones. Neither can 
this receive the least prejudice from that frequent but 
impertinent distinction, that he is one in substance, 
but three in persons or subsistences; since God was 
not declared or believed incompletely, or without his 
subsistence: nor did he require homage from his crea- 
tures, as an incomplete or abstracted being, but as 
God the Holy One: for so he should be manifested 
and worshiped without that which was absolutely 
necessary to himself. So that either the testimonies 
of the aforementioned Scriptures are to be believed 
concerning God, that he is entirely and completely, 
not abstractly and distinctly, the Holy One, or else 
their authority to be denied by these trinitarians: and 
on the contrary, if they pretend to credit those holy 
testimonies, they must necessarily conclude their 
kind of trinity a fiction." — Ibid. p. 253. 

"Whereas H. G. saith, * Are there not three that 
bear record in heaven V I say yes, and these three 
are one. And is not Christ the Saviour that Word 
which is one of the three? which are but one Divine 
Being, thing, or substance, though revealed tinder 
several considerations, and diversities of manifes- 
tations, and degrees of discoveries, yet all one divine 
life and being, as God is the Word, the Life, the 
Light, and so is Christ. And the holy Spirit is life 
to the righteous, and so is Christ the way, the truth, 
and the life. i In him was life, and the life was the 
light of men;' the life affordeth light to all, and the 
light life to all that obey it, and in it follow Christ, 



117 

Such receive the light of life, and come to walk in 
the light of the living. As the light of life is re- 
ceived unto justification and peace, the holy Spirit is 
Received, in that glorious ministration, as comforter, 
after a state of desolation and sorrow, of whom Christ 
said, 'He shall receive of mine and shall show it unto 
you.' John xvi. 13." — G. Whitehead, Christian 
Quaker, p. 352. 

"They who preach and pray in the spirit, and power, 
and light, and wisdom of God, do pray in the name 
of Jesus; for Jesus is but a name which was given 
unto that which was before that name was, which the 
angel called a holy thing, and also said, c That holy 
thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the 
Son of God.' Luke i. 31.?? "So that this One Holy 
Thing in process of time, according to the knowledge 
of his works and operations, in and by many, hath 
several, many, and various names given unto it." 

" Therefore, stumble not nor dispute not about names, 
or words, or letters, which were given, through the 
various operations, to the one, holy, undefiled, un- 
changeable thing, as it was witnessed, understood, 
and enjoyed, by those men which were made holy 
through the divine workings, teachings, instructions, 
counsels, and guidances of it." — Bayly's Works, p. 
114, 117. 

"R. G. <I say, that the works wrought for us by 
Christ in his crucified body, is the first mystery, the 
foundation of all our mercies, the ground of the 
possibility of having any works wrought in us by the 
spirit of God, tending to our being made like unto 
him/ 

Answer. The ground and cause of all our mercies 
is the infinite love of God, in which he sent his Son, 
whose works for us and example to us were effects and 
tokens of the love of God to man, and not the ground 
and purchasing cause thereof, (nor as by way of 
payment and rigid satisfaction to vindictive justice, 



118 

as Presbyters call it,) as if Christ were more kind 
to man, and his love more infinite than his Father's, 
which is blasphemous; like some of the popish friars 
that said, 'the Son was better than the Father.' And 
what better doth thy doctrine imply, than that the 
Son's works, wrought without us, are the previous 
procuring^ purchasing cause of the love of God to 
us while sinners j p. 22. On this erroneous stuff 
depends much of thy book. Thou mightest as well 
say that God and his love had a beginning, or were 
inferior to the man Christ, as that Christ's works 
without were the previous (or foregoing) cause of 
God's love to us! How, then, is his love infinite in 
itself, and free to us, and the cause of sending his 
Son? John iii. 16. And darest thou say that God had 
not love to mankind before he sent his Son in the 
flesh? or, that the love of God was not the previous 
cause of his so sending his Son, and of Christ's 
testimony and works in the days of his flesh?" — G. 
Whitehead's Nature of Christianity, p. IS, 19. 

"As at any time disobedient men have hearkened 
to the still voice of the Word, that messenger of God 
in their hearts, to be affected and convinced by it, 
as it brings reproof for sin, which is but a fatherly 
chastisement; so upon true brokenness of soul and 
contrition of spirit, that very same principle and 
Word of life in man has mediated and atoned, and 
God has been propitious, lifting up the light of his 
countenance, and replenishing such humble penitents 
with divine consolations. So that still the same 
Christ, Word-God, who has lighted all men, is by 
sin grieved and burdened, and bears the iniquities of 
such as so sin and reject his benefits: but as any hear 
his knocks and let him into their hearts, he first 
wounds, and then heals; afterwards he atones, medi- 
ates, and reinstates man in the holy image he is fallen 
from by sin. Behold, this is the state of restitution! 
And this in some measure was witnessed by the holy 



119 

patriarchs, prophets, and servants of God in old time, 
to whom Christ was substantially the same Saviour, 
and seed bruising the serpent's head, that he is now 
to us, what difference soever there rnay be in point 
of manifestation." — William Perm's Works, vol. 1, 
p. 574. 

" Question. What is the work of redemption? 

Answer. To purge the old leaven out of the ves- 
sel, to purify the vessel from all the false appearances 
of light, to batter down all the strong holds of the 
enemy in the mind, all the reasonings, thoughts, 
imaginations, and consultations, which are not of the 
pure, or in the pure; and so to new create and new 
form the vessel in the image of the wisdom and 
purity wherein it was at first formed. 

Question. Who doth this work, or who is man's 
Redeemer out of the fall? 

Answer. The Eternal Word, or Son of the Fa- 
ther, even the wisdom and poiver which went forth 
from the fountain in the creation, the same goeth 
forth from the bosom of the Father to purify the 
creature, and so bringeth the creature back (being 
purified and cleansed) into his bosom again. 

Ques. With what doth this Word, or Redeemer, 
redeem? 

Ans. With his oivn life, with his own blood, with 
his own eternal virtue and purity. He descendeth 
into the lower parts of the earth, becomes flesh there, 
sows his own seed in his prepared earth, begets of his 
flesh and of his bone, in his own likeness, and nou- 
rished up his birth with his flesh and blood unto life 
everlasting. 

Ques. What is this life? Or how doth it first mani- 
fest itself in the darkness? 

Ans. It is the light of men. It is that which gave 
light to Adam at first, again to him after the fall, and 
to all men since the fall. It enlightens in nature; it 
enlightened under the law; it did enlighten under the 



120 

gospel before the apostacy, and again since the apos* 
taey. 

Quest. Ho\v doth the light enlighten? 

Ans. By its shining. The eternal Word moves, 
the life opens, the light shines: this in the least de* 
gree, is a beginning of redemption; in its fulness 
it is redemption perfected." — Isaac Penington, 
Vol. 1, p. 513. 

"He saith, 'Obedience to the light within is an- 
other atonement, and a denying the atonement of 
Christ/ and calls it 'a mystery of iniquity.' 

Ans. None know the atonement of Christ but by 
the light within, and all are in the mystery of iniquity 
that are out of the light which cometh from Christ, 
the covenant of God to Jews and Gentiles; and that 
'gives them the light of the knowledge of the glory 
of God, in the face of Christ Jesus.' Mark! he saith, 
the light is that which gives the knowledge; and the 
light within doth not set up another atonement; but 
they that deny the light within, set up another atone- 
ment than Christ." 

"None see Christ the one offering, but with the 
light that cometh from him: nor do any know the 
Saviour, Christ Jesus, but with the light that cometh 
from him: and that lets them see the body prepared, 
Christ who was the seed of Abraham, according to 
the flesh, the one offering, that ends all offerings; and 
his blood that is the atonement is the saints'* drink, 
which who drinks shall live, with ivhich their con- 
sciences are purged from dead works, to serve the 
living God. And no one knows the foundation of 
God that standeth sure, nor feels it, nor sees it, but 
with the light which cometh from Christ the founda- 
tion, which breaks down all other foundations; which 
light that every man is enlightened withal, gives him 
the knowledge of the foundation of God." — Georgt 
Fox's Great Mystery, p. 121,212. 

THE END* 



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